Organizers of Paris 2024 have suggested that breakdancing(霹雳舞) should be included as a new sport in the Olympic sports. The committee is pleased with the suggestion as it is in line with its aim of rejuvenating the Olympics. But, what is breakdancing on earth?
Breakdancing is not simply a style of dance. It’s a unique culture with its own history. Popularized by African Americans and US Latinos, breakdancing is an energetic form of dance including stylized footwork and moves such as spinning on the head, hands or knees. It arose in New York City during the late 1960s and early 1970s from martial arts moves. The moves, originally learned as a form of self-defence eventually developed into the complex and athletic moves of today’s breakdancing.
Breakdancing is largely improvisational(即兴的) without standard moves or steps. The key is on energy, movement, creativity and certain danger. The people who perform this style of dance are known as b-boys or b-girls. They are also called breakers.
From those early roots, breakdancing began to add different moves to their routines, such as “pops” and “locks”, which brought a robotic quality to the dance. That style was popularized in the early 1970s by artists of the time. In the 1980s breakdancing reached a greater audience when it was adopted by mainstream artists like Michael Jackson. Jackson’s moonwalk, a step that involved sliding backward and lifting the soles of the feet so that he appeared to be sliding or floating, caused huge excitement among teens of all races.
With the growing popularity over the years, breakdancing has gone from a street phenomenon to one that is accepted by the wider culture.
Breakdancing is universal and it is popular with more than one million b-boys and b-girls in France. We hope the energetic dance is to be in the Olympic Games.
1.Which of the following best describes breakdancing?
A.Unique and defensive. B.Standard but dangerous.
C.Energetic and creative. D.Improvisational but simple.
2.What does Paragraph 2 mainly tell us about breakdancing?
A.Its features and history. B.Its birthplace and audience.
C.Its changes and culture. D.Its moves and complexity.
3.Why did breakdancing attract more people in the 1980s?
A.It took on a robotic look. B.It caused excitement among teens.
C.It involved pops and locks. D.It was adopted by mainstream artists.
4.What might be the purpose of writing the text?
A.To popularize breakdancing worldwide.
B.To explain what breakdancing is on earth.
C.To promote breakdancing to an Olympic sport.
D.To introduce the development of breakdancing.
I took a trip to Antarctica last December. My favorite moment in Antarctica was the one I enjoyed in Wilhelmina Bay.
Wilhelmina Bay was extremely large in size. But after we got into our kayaks (皮艇)，we realized what made this part of Antarctica special, at least on the day of our visit.
Kayak cruises are like adventures, if there’s a good wildlife sighting around, the driver radios the other boats and tells them to come and see it. Throughout Antarctica you would see the kayaks gather in the same place to watch a whale, or a group of seals, or some cartoon-like Adelie penguins.
But in Wilhelmina Bay, it seemed like every kayak had its own group of whales to watch. They were everywhere! We had plenty of them getting close to us. Then one got a little too close. All of a sudden, it rose in front of our kayaks. This wasn’t the “logging” where they gently rise and fall — this whale knew exactly what he was doing.
We were shocked. It was so close. Was it going to fall on us? It happened so quickly that I didn’t get a chance to take a photo. Thankfully there were some kayaks on the other side, getting shots of what we later called “the moment the drysuits became not so dry”.
“I’m always surprised at what we see, but I’m not often impressed,” our kayaking guide Michael told us. “The only thing better than that would have been, like, if a killer whale jumped out of the water right over the kayaks .”
1.What makes the visit in Wilhelmina Bay special?
A.The large size of the Bay. B.The thrilling whale-watching.
C.The wildlife sighting around. D.The adventurous Kayak cruises.
2.How did “this whale” in Paragraph 4 impress the writer?
A.It jumped out of the water right over the kayaks.
B.It rose ahead so suddenly that no picture was taken.
C.It jumped so close to the kayaks that visitors got wet.
D.It floated like a log in the water, gently rising and falling.
3.What is the text mainly about?
A.The greatest show on the earth. B.Amazing adventures in Antarctica.
C.The wildlife in Wilhelmina Bay. D.An unforgettable experience in Antarctica.
阅读下面材料,根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。续写的词数应为150左右。
An 80-year-old man was sitting on the sofa in his house along with his 45-year-old highly educated son. Suddenly, a crow rested on their window.
The father asked his son, “What’s this?” The son replied, “It is a crow.”
After a few minutes, the father asked his son for the second time, “What’s this?” The son said, “Father, I have just now told you, it is a crow!”
After a little while, the old father again asked his son the third time, “What’s this?”
At this time, some expression of anger was felt in his son’s tone when he said to his father with a firm reply. “It is a crow, a crow.” A little while later, the father again asked his son the fourth time, “What’s this?”
This time, the son shouted at his father, “Why do you keep asking me the same question again and again, although I have told you so many times ‘IT IS A CROW’. Are you not able to understand this?”
A little later the father went to his room and came back with an old diary, which he had kept since his son was born.
On opening a page, he asked his son to read the page.
When the son read it, the following words were written in the diary:
“Today, my little son aged 3 was sitting with me on the sofa, when a crow was sitting on the window. My son asked me 23 times what it was, and I replied to him all 23 times that it was a crow. I hugged him lovingly each time he asked me the same question. I did not at all feel angry but I rather felt love for my innocent son.”
Paragraph 1:
After reading the diary, the son burst into tears, feeling sorry for what he had done to his father.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:
Feeling ashamed, the son got down to his knees before his father.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入一个适当的单词或所给单词的正确形式。
As schools close and millions of people across the United States work from home, the promise of companionship is prompting(促使) some to take in animals. The 1. (decide) to adopt pets flies in the face of some conventional wisdom that discourages adding a new animal 2.a household during a stressful or busy time of the year, such as the holidays. But so far, the novel coronavirus 3. ( create) an almost parental leave-like situation for many people.
“There are times 4. animals provide incredible comfort and companionship, especially during times of crisis—and they 5. (true) appreciate the attention—so we encourage people 6. (continue) to adopt animals in need,” said Malt Bershadker, president and chief executive of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
People are bringing home all kinds of living creatures for companionship during an unprecedented(空前的) time of social isolation(隔离), and they’re sharing 7. (photo) or social media to provide a break from darker news.
Pets can also entertain younger family members at home—Kenneth Lynch and Lauren Wakefield bought 8. unique blue-and-silver betta fish for their two young children to help develop a strong sense of responsibility by 9. (feed) it and cleaning the tank. “It is 10. (benefit) to occupy some of their time in a more healthy manner while they are home from school”, said Lynch.
My education started in a small village of India, I did not have any English then. When I discovered that famous novelist George Orwell was born in Motihari, it made me wonder if I could be a writer too. That day, it became my ________.
My father opened up the world of books for me. I must have been seven or eight, when he first ________ me to a Hindi (印地语) storybook. When dad was reading the book for me, I was _____with the stories. By the time I was in Grade 10, I had finished reading hundreds of novels. Also, my private tutor made me beileve that it was _________for me to learn the language. After 10 months with her, I started reading picture books in English.
Two years later, I began to read my first English novel. Then I realized that I should try writing newspaper articles, improve my skills and then progress to longer forms. I _________a couple of Hindi newspapers with my writing but was promptly turned down. They said my article didn’t _________ their standards. I was so ________ that I doubted my ability. At this time, I met kind-hearted Daniel who published my first article after heavy editing. It was an important turning point for me, my _________ as a writer began.
After writing a dozen articles and reviews, I knew it was finally time to plan my novel.
Creating the plot was really ________ for me. But I managed to write the first ________ of my novel! Full of ________, I sent it to Mary Mount, a famous editor right away. My submission was ________ again, but I was still grateful just to hear from her.
One year later, I finished my writing work again. I contacted another editor. A month later, the feed-back landed on my table, ________ it was desperate, to put it mildly. I cried, believing I’d never get it published.
When I shared it with my friend, her feedback and support helped me improve my manuscript further. Then I submitted it to a few publishers and a few days later, I got a call from a publisher. To my delight, he informed me that my book would be published. What surprised me was that a few production houses had expressed interest in my novel. One of the directors even intended to ______it for the screen. It is ________my effort and the encouragement from my family and friend, after 21 years struggling, that eventually I fulfilled my dream.
1.A.dream B.career C.memory D.ability
2.A.drew B.lent C.introduced D.bought
3.A.sacred B.spellbound C.sensitive D.interested
4.A.out of curiosity B.out of ignorance C.out of the question D.out of question
5.A.attracted B.approached C.expressed D.responded
6.A.look forward to B.do harm to C.look up to D.live up to
7.A.worried B.surprised C.depressed D.excited
8.A.program B.report C.drill D.journey
9.A.demanding B.amazing C.rewarding D.convincing
10.A.chapter B.draft C.line D.question
11.A.pride B.energy C.expectation D.patience
12.A.praised B.rejected C.accused D.collected
13.A.but B.so C.otherwise D.thus
14.A.adapt B.donate C.adopt D.encourage
15.A.out of B.regardless of C.because of D.at the mercy of
The artificial lighting which lines the world’s coastlines could be having a significant impact on species that rely on the moon and stars to find food, new research suggests.
Creatures such as the sand hopper(沙蚤) orientate(确定方位)their nightly migrations based on the moon’s position and brightness of the natural night sky. However, a study by Bangor University and the University of Plymouth shows the presence of artificial light originating from cities several kilometres away (also known as artificial sky glow) disrupts the lunar compass they use when covering long distances.
In some cases, this can lead to animals travelling towards the sea and away from food, while in others it reduces the chance of them venturing out for food at all. Writing in Current Biology, researchers say this could pose a distinct threat not just to the health of sand hopper populations but also the wider ecosystem, since they play an important role in breaking down and recycling algae washed up on coastlines.
Dr. Thomas Davies, Lecturer in Marine Conservation at the University of Plymouth (UK), said, “Artificial sky glow is the most geographically widespread form of light pollution. Surveys have shown it can currently be detected above 23% of the world’s coasts nightly, and with coastal human populations set to at least double by 2060, its effects are only going to increase. Our results show it is already having obvious impacts on biological processes that are guided by celestial(天上的)light signals.”
Through the study, researchers find increasing evidence that light pollution from coastal cities can influence marine species inhabiting nearby beaches, rocky shores and even the seafloor. These results highlight how pervasive(遍布的)city lighting could be in shaping the ecology of coastlines kilometres distant from their nearest urban centres. They also highlight the potential for artificial sky glow to impact other species that undergo migrations using the moon as a compass.
“While our understanding of the impacts of street lights on nature has improved dramatically, artificial sky glow has been largely overlooked. More work is urgently needed to fully understand the extent to which it is shaping the natural environment.” Dr. Thomas Davies added.
1.Which of the following could best replace “disrupts” in paragraph 2?
A.disturbs B.makes C.unites D.replaces
2.What is paragraph 3 mainly about?
A.The ways of creatures hunting food.
B.The causes of animals migrating at night.
C.The results of ecosystems being destroyed.
D.The influence of artificial light on creatures.
3.What have researchers found about light pollution?
A.It is the main pollution in cities.
B.It shapes the ecology of the ocean.
C.It has a great influence on surroundings.
D.It affects the migrations of sea creatures.
4.What does Dr. Thomas Davies think of the study of artificial sky glow?
A.It is useless. B.It is essential.
C.It is doubtful. D.It is challenging.
