每天试题更新列表 - 满分5

I’m going to have a week-long holiday with my friends, Gino and Connie. I’m so ________ that I can hardly type, not only for the wonders in Hawaii, but also for the ________ of meeting my friends.

Isn’t it ________ how certain friends are important to us in our life? Five years ago, I got a job in a famous company and I ________ whether I was making the right decision or if it was really a job I ________. After all, my dream was to work at a magazine or newspaper. And yet I felt like ________ there somehow, though it wasn’t my dream job.

The company was ________ fast. Every week brought new partners, most of them around my age. I met Gino who had just started a week earlier. ________, we became friends and exchanged ________ and thoughts with each other. In this way, I soon ________ my loneliness. One month later, Connie joined the company too, another ________ person to turn to for help when I was ________.

It was two years ________ I got a job as a journalist for a local magazine. Gino and Connie no longer work there ________, either. But we still chat over Wechat twice a week on a ________ basis. I could have never thought, five years ago, that we’d travel together in Hawaii one day and develop lasting ________ .

The job that wasn’t my dream job turned out to be the best job I ________ have ever found. Most of the friends I have today came from that company. We ________ everything with one another. There were still times ________ I wondered what I was doing there and whether my writing dreams would ever come true, but ________, I can hardly imagine my life without those friends.

Now I can’t wait to see what is in store for us—who knows who we’ll meet.

1.A.excited B.interested C.surprised D.upset

2.A.view B.request C.chance D.power

3.A.shocking B.amazing C.hopeful D.unfair

4.A.explored B.bargained C.recognized D.doubted

5.A.cared about B.watched over C.went through D.set up

6.A.surviving B.belonging C.escaping D.deserving

7.A.falling B.recovering C.arising D.growing

8.A.Gradually B.Totally C.Frequently D.Actually

9.A.reality B.evidence C.feelings D.principles

10.A.rebuilt B.removed C.replaced D.rescued

11.A.reliable B.stubborn C.educated D.determined

12.A.in ruins B.in return C.in trouble D.in charge

13.A.until B.unless C.before D.while

14.A.ever since B.at present C.as usual D.on purpose

15.A.regular B.exact C.firm D.equal

16.A.identity B.value C.friendship D.character

17.A.could B.should C.must D.need

18.A.ignored B.selected C.judged D.shared

19.A.that B.when C.what D.which

20.A.extremely B.entirely C.anyhow D.moreover

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Cultural Relics in the UK

Thirty million people come to the UK every year and much of the attraction lies in Britain’s cultural relics - its palaces, cathedrals (大教堂), castles and museums. 1.

Experience easy-to-reach city traffic.

London is usually the visitor’s first choice. 2. There is the underground system, the oldest in the world, or the traditional double-decker bus. A boat trip along the River Thames takes you to the Tower of London. Several famous people were imprisoned here - including one of King Henry Ⅷ’s wives, Anne Bolevn.

Taking a walk around the city is easy since there are maps in the streets to show you what is within a five-minute walk. You can get a great view of the city from 135 meters up on a huge wheel, the London Eye. Look across the river and you will see the Houses of Parliament and its famous clock tower, Big Ben. Walk east towards the City, the capital’s financial district, and you won’t fail to find St Paul’s Cathedral. It was rebuilt after the Great Fire of London in 1666. Take a friend up to the Whispering Gallery in the dome, stand on different sides and have a conversation by putting your ear to the wall and speaking very softly to each other.

Appreciate Stone enigma.

For one of the earliest and most amazing man-made structures in Britain, you shouldn’t miss Stonehenge. Standing on windy Salisbury Plain, the ancient stone circle draws visitors from all over the world to think about how it got there and why it was built. 4.

A. The answer is still a puzzle.

B. So what exactly are they visiting?

C. Visit valuable relics in the countryside.

D. It has everything you would expect in a city.

E. Getting around is not too difficult.

F. Go around the city of London on foot.

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Alibaba Group Holding is sparing no effort to turn its annual Singles’ Day shopping festival into a universal celebration. The challenge for billionaire Jack Ma’s (MaYun) online kingdom is to break another sales record after a decade of rapid developments. With rising strong competition from smaller platforms such as JD.com Inc. and Pinduoduo Inc., Alibaba is seeking to add new growth engines.

Now the retail (零售)celebration on Nov. 11 has become an important signal not just for the company, but also the world’s second largest economy, China. This year, shoppers in China have broken last year’s record by making the sum of $30.8 billion in sales, as the tradition marked its 10th year. “Singles’ Day has now become a stage for Alibaba to present its power across all its platforms.” Daniel Zhang (Zhang Yong), chief executive officer (CEO), said at an October news conference in Beijing. He’s taking over after Ma steps down as executive chairman next year.

It was Zhang who came up with the idea of turning Singles’ Day into a shopping festival a decade ago. Now that this year’s one-day fair will be Ma’s last as chairman, Zhang will need to prove he can carry on the wonder. “We think 1 billion packs will become a daily event in the future.” he said.

To fuel growth, Alibaba is speeding up its global exploration. Ele. me, the company it took control of this year, will provide services for selected Starbucks stores across 11 cities in China. Rural Taobao, aiming at the customers in the countryside will offer special discount (折扣) for goods across 800 counties.

Although it’s been three years since Ma said he wants to make Singles’ Day a global shopping event, that hasn’t happened yet. International expansion will be a key part of Zhang’s plan to keep breaking sales records.

1.According to paragraph 1, Alibaba is exploring more growth engines because ________.

A.it has developed swiftly in the last ten years

B.it has broken a new sales record

C.Jack Ma’s dream has come true

D.other companies are competing for the market

2.It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

A.Zhang has a long way to go before he sets another sales record

B.the Singles’ Day shopping festival started over ten years ago

C.the idea of the retail celebration on Nov. 11 was put forward by Jack Ma

D.shoppers in China doubted whether Zhang will be a successful CEO

3.The writer expresses the idea in paragraph 4 by ________.

A.giving an explanation B.listing examples

C.making a comparison D.offering data

4.From the author’s point of view, Alibaba’s future is ________.

A.challenging and hopeless B.worrying and doubtful

C.challenging but hopeful D.worrying but rewarding

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Mohandas Gandhi, widely considered the father of his country, was the most important Indian political and spiritual leader of the 20th century.

Gandhi was born into a middle-class Hindu family. In 1888, he traveled to England for further education. After graduation, he became a lawyer. At the age of 23, Gandhi worked for an Indian company offering guidance on legal problems in South Africa, where like many other Indians, he was treated unfairly. So he devoted himself to the fight for equal rights. He founded a community against European rulers and developed a political movement based on the methods of non-violent civil disobedience (非暴力不合作),which he called “satyagraha”.

In 1915, Gandhi returned to India and helped settle many local arguments, thus winning lots of respect throughout the country. India’s most well-known writer, Rabindranath Tagore, gave Gandhi the title Mahatma (“Great Soul”). Gandhi himself, however, refused the honor even though within the Hindu culture, being called “Mahatma” is a symbol of great respect. From 1920-1922, he led a national “non-cooperation movement” calling upon Indians to stop cooperating with the British and become independent.

After World War Ⅱ,Gandhi was involved in the deliberations (审议)that led to India’s independence. The same deliberations, however, also led to the separation of India into two countries: modern-day India (primarily for Hindus) and Pakistan (for Muslims). On January 30,1948, Gandhi was murdered at the age of 78. The killer hated Gandhi for the separation of the country.

Gandhi believed in the unity of all mankind under one god. He viewed life as a very long series of small steps towards his goals. By the time he died, India had finally become an independent country, free of British rule. Gandhi is remembered as a political leader, whose methods were later followed by many political leaders around the world. Gandhi is also remembered for his belief and practice to seek the true kindness of mankind. As such, he changed the world.

1.Which of the following best describes the structure of the passage?

A. B.

C. D.

2.How did Gandhi lead the Indian people to win the independence?

A.By answering violence with violence.

B.By keeping a close relationship with the British.

C.By asking for more support from Britain.

D.By fighting against the British rule in a peaceful way.

3.What was Gandhi’s attitude towards the title Mahatma?

A.He himself thought highly of the title.

B.He considered the title a symbol of power.

C.He wasn’t willing to accept the honor.

D.He enjoyed the honor he deserved.

4.What might be the best title for the passage?

A.The Fight for Equal Rights B.The Road to Independence

C.A Man of Great Soul D.A Deadly Deliberation

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This photograph taken and released on Sep 28, 2018 by Indonesia’s National Agency for Disaster Management shows a house destroyed by a 7.5 magnitude (级) earthquake in the small town Donggala on Sulawesi Island. The quake brought down many buildings while tsunami waves hit into its beachfront. “All the things in my house were shaking and it left a small crack on my wall. Anyway, I survived!” one of the local people Mohammad Fikri said by telephone.

But the biggest killer was probably soil liquefaction (地基液化), which happens when a powerful quake turns the dry ground into a liquid mire (泥沼) and this totally destroyed several neighborhoods.

The official death reports rose to 1,948, and most of them were in Palu, the center of the Sulawesi Island. Bodies are still being dug out and the numbers from less populated areas are increasing but they seem to have suffered fewer deaths than the city. No one knows how many people are missing, especially in the areas hit by liquefaction, but it could be as high as 5,000, the National Disaster Agency said.

At a Palu middle school, fewer than 50 of its 697 students came. School principal Abdul Rashid said at least four students were killed in the quake. “Classes haven’t started. We’re only collecting data to find out how many students are safe,” he said. One boy chatting in the school with friends said he was disappointed that so few of his classmates had shown up. “I’m still waiting for the Ministry of Education to give us instructions on when to begin classes. For now, I don’t think we’re ready. Many children are so frightened that they need time to calm down.”

The government has collected $37 million to help victims of the earthquake. With the efforts of rescue workers and volunteers, the supply of gas and electricity has been recovered. Ruins would be cleared and areas hit by liquefaction would be turned into parks, gymnasiums and other public spaces, a spokesman said.

1.It can be learned from paragraph 1 that ________.

A.the photo is released by Mohammad Fikri

B.no death was reported in the small town

C.the quake damaged many local buildings

D.Donggala is a town located off the Sulawesi island

2.What caused the most damage in the quake?

A.A power failure. B.The cutoff of gas supply.

C.Soil liquefaction. D.The cracks of houses.

3.Which of the following statements about the earthquake is TRUE?

A.Few people in Palu were killed in the quake.

B.People in the countryside suffered more from the hit.

C.Few students showed up because of their disappointment over the school.

D.The government is taking active measures against the disaster.

4.What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?

A.To make a brief introduction of the damage caused by the tsunami.

B.To give a detailed news report of the Donggala quake.

C.To stress the importance of the rescue work after the quake.

D.To describe the students’ concern for safety at school.

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荆门正在创建全国文明城市，假如你叫李华，你校将组织一批志愿者于1月11日星期六下午5：00—6:30到荆门市中天街参加志愿者服务。请你以学生会的名义用英语写一则书面通知，内容包括：

1．活动的时间。

2．活动的内容和要求。

注意：1．词数100左右；

2．可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；

3．开头已给出，不计入总词数。

全国文明城市 the National Civilized City

Notice

Volunteers wanted at Zhongtianjie，Jingmen City

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Student Union

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假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每次错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。

增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在其下面写出该加的词。

删除：把多余的词用(＼)划掉。

修改：在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。

注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；

2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。

The first person I met in my high school was my deskmate, with that I fell in love at first sight.

She was warm-hearted and always wore a honest smile on her face. I was homesick in the first few days, unable to adjust the new school. It was with her help which I got familiar with the school. However, what impressed me most was her diligence and determine. When faced with a challenge in study, she would try out her best to solve it. Whenever I was in trouble, she would encourage myself and help me out. But for her encouragement, I wouldn’t have progressed so fast and steady.

Have so nice a girl as my friend is great luck for me. May our friendship lasts forever.

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阅读下面材料，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Traditionally, robots have been hard, made of metal and other rigid material. But a team of scientists at Harvard University in the US has managed to build an 1. (entire) soft robot —the “Octobot”.

2. (describe) in science journal Nature, the “Octobot” could pave the way for 3. (effective) autonomous robots that could be used in search, rescue and exploration than the traditional ones. “The Octobot is a minimal system which may serve 4.a foundation for a new generation of completely soft, autonomous robots,” the study’s authors wrote.

Researchers 5. (work) on building soft robots for decades. They’ve taken6.(inspire) from nature, looking to animals from jellyfish to cockroaches, which are often made up of more flexible matter.

However, creating a completely soft robot 7. (remain) a challenge. Even if engineers build a silicone(硅酮) body, 8. is still a grand challenge to construct flexible versions of essential parts, such as a source of power.

“9. soft robotics is still in its early stage, it holds a great promise for several applications, such as search-rescue operations and explorations,” Barbara Mazzolai of Technology’ Center for Micro-BioRobotics, wrote in a comment. “Soft robots might also open up new approaches to 10.(improve) wellness and quality of life.”

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My dog died. Yes, she was very old, deaf, and partially blind. She had long lost her _______ energy. Watching her _______ into her bed was as painful for me as it was for her. In the past few months, she had begun to bark at strangers and neighbors. But she used to be _______ even if a child pulled her tail._______ her decline doesn’t lessen the loss, however.

My husband had found her _______ on his farm and brought her home. She was a black and dirty bag of bones who got _______ when we approached. I like to think the years she spent with us were filled with _______. Every so often, though, my husband would remind me her days were _______, and we agreed that if she showed any _______ of pain, we would put her down. No need for her to ________ ,no need for us to hold on tight. I prepared myself for her________ .

Yet, when it came eventually, I wasn’t ________ . I was angry about the __________ of it all. It appears as if we couldn’t negotiate with death, with fate but to __________ ourselves, assuming that we have more time. We can’t really live every day as if it were our last.

We do love our pets. They become a necessary part of the family. Now I still __________look for her in my home office, where she slept. I still ________ her to come and sit at my feet or to slide to the front door whenever one ________. And I miss my__________ of the walks, the feeding and the bathing. I miss her ________ and the sense of being around the house, but more than anything I miss the ________ that she loved me so unconditionally.

1.A.natural B.youthful C.special D.lasting

2.A.settle B.dive C.jump D.throw

3.A.angry B.brave C.friendly D.anxious

4.A.Feeling B.Enjoying C.Checking D.Knowing

5.A.rejected B.exposed C.abandoned D.protected

6.A.fearless B.disappointed C.proud D.nervous

7.A.sorrow B.love C.regret D.pain

8.A.finished B.approached C.counted D.ended

9.A.marks B.gestures C.aspects D.signs

10.A.fight B.suffer C.contact D.survive

11.A.departure B.arrival C.journey D.adventure

12.A.aware B.doubtful C.eager D.ready

13.A.unfairness B.failure C.battle D.challenge

14.A.inform B.convince C.remind D.fool

15.A.carefully B.unconsciously C.instantly D.actively

16.A.expect B.agree C.invite D.allow

17.A.shows off B.turns around C.stops by D.picks up

18.A.routine B.freedom C.hobby D.course

19.A.difference B.absence C.presence D.influence

20.A.reason B.knowledge C.wish D.desire

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Ways to teach kids money management skills

No matter your financial situation, you can help your kids make smart money choices. Here are 3 ways my husband and I have started teaching money smarts to our children:

1. Review the family budget together

1.They also know that our income goes to pay for things like groceries, clothes, and toys. Recently, we’ve introduced some of the more unseen budget categories like retirement, car repairs, and Christmas savings.

Seeing what a budget is and how it works gives our kids ownership of the process and an understanding of why we do what we do each month. 2.

2. Let kids handle money

3.Our kids earn money on specific chores that are above and beyond the basic requirements of helping our family function. With the money they make for extra work, they practice counting, giving, saving, and, of course, spending!

3. Practice delayed gratification(满足)

My husband and I practice delayed gratification often and talk through our plans with the kids so they see that as a family we are saving rather than borrowing for immediate gratification.

4.And together we are all working a little extra to fund a trip to Disneyland.

No one likes to wait.5.But, delaying gratification is a valuable skill that our children can learn. It helps them discover many things are worth the wait.

A. That’s just not human nature!

B. Our kids know that Mum and Dad work to earn money.

C. Don’t worry if your current financial situation isn’t perfect.

D. Choose wise words when discussing money around your kids.

E. Right now they know that Daddy is saving for a new-to-him truck.

F. There is no better way to learn about money than to actually be responsible for it.

G. When we say, “There isn’t any more eating-out money left,” they understand why.

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Take a walk through Washington and you’ll find plenty of marble memorials(纪念碑). But is that what the future of the memorial-rich city holds? If the winners of a new design competition have their way, probably not.

The Memorials for the Future design competition invited submissions (意见书) from teams throughout the world. Though, the memorials selected won’t actually be built in the city, they were intended to start a discussion about how to think of memorials in a very different future.

Climate Chronograph, the winning project by Team Azimuth Land Craft, greatly departs from memorials as we know them. The project memorializes the harmful effects of climate change by suggesting a memorial at Hains Point, a spot between the Potomac River and Washington Channel. Just 100 years ago, the man-made island was part of the river. It came into existence after the National Park Service decided to turn the confluence(合流点) of the waters into a tidal basin to protect the nearby National Mall from floods.

Those floods are expected to come more and more often as the climate changes. Climate Chronograph will memorialize those changes by planting cherry trees as a kind of tidal gauge(潮位计) that can be used by future visitors to determine just how much water levels have risen.

The other winning projects include a project that frees mechanical parrots that fly over the Jefferson Memorial and collect and retell stories about monuments，a podcast (播客) platform that puts immigrant stories on public transportation, and an interactive memorial that brings national parks to the D. C. Metro. The competition also produced a report that points to ways America can better memorialize the things that matter—strategies that could help cities save money and space.

That’s good news, especially given that D.C.’s iconic Mall has been closed to new construction. The memorials of the future won’t just turn collective memories toward the stories of new phenomena and groups like climate change and immigrants. Rather, it seems that they’ll make use of space in new creative ways—no marble needed.

1.What is the purpose of the design competition?

A.To select the best design team.

B.To find new uses for old memorials.

C.To design new memorials for Washington.

D.To explore new ways of experiencing memorials.

2.What can be used to replace the underlined word “departs” in Paragraph 3?

A.Differs B.Benefits

C.Suffers D.Learns

3.What do we know about Climate Chronograph?

A.It will be located in a park.

B.It will be built after the competition.

C.It clearly shows the effects of climate change.

D.It uses high-tech equipment to measure climate change.

4.What would be the best title for the text?

A.A memorial to a sad future.

B.Marble memorials are out of date.

C.Climate Chronograph, memorial for our future.

D.What will the memorials of the future look like?

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Survey after survey indicates that one of our biggest worries in retirement is running out of money. More than a third of retired investors and half who aren’t retired said they worry they will run out of money and be forced to depend on Social Security as their main income source, according to a Wells Fargo-Gallup survey.

You might think that it would make people save more. But few of us even know how much we need to save for a comfortable retirement. However, one way people can feel better about retirement is to start out with as little debt as possible. And that leads us to a question many financial planners are asked by pre-retirees: Should you pay off that mortgage(房贷) before you retire? Unlike many areas of retirement planning, there is no easy answer to this question. The simplest answer is: It depends.

“It’s very dependent on the actual individual,” says Jimmy Lee, chief executive of the Wealth Consulting Group in Las Vegas. “The people who have more reliable sources of income may be more suited to carrying a mortgage,” he says. “Interest rates are a big factor. In today’s low-interest environment, it would make sense to carry a mortgage if your mortgage rate is under 4 percent and you can get an investment rate of 6 percent.”

Mitch Katz, financial adviser and partner at Capital Associates in Bethesda, says having that mortgage paid off helps some people sleep at night. “It’s kind of an emotional thing more than a financial thing,” Katz says. “At the end of the day, financially it makes more sense to not pay off the mortgage. But that’s easy to say in theory and harder in practice.”

“We can control only what we can control,” he says. “You can go to the gym and eat healthy, and walk outside and get hit by a bus. We can’t control that. But, paying off a mortgage, it gives you the ability to pay off other things. Emotionally, it’s very powerful.”

1.How will those depending on Social Security probably feel?

A.Proud B.Awkward

C.Hopeful D.Ignorant

2.What benefit might worry in retirement bring?

A.It may result in more savings. B.It leads to a wiser investment.

C.It will reduce the mortgage greatly. D.It ensures a comfortable retirement.

3.What’s Jimmy Lee’s advice for those carrying a mortgage?

A.Ask financial planners for suggestions.

B.Pay off the mortgage before retirement.

C.Seek new investment opportunities after retirement.

D.Balance the mortgage against the investment return.

4.What does Mitch Katz’s answer focus on?

A.Interest rates B.Mental burden

C.Social changes D.Financial theory

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It was the week before Christmas, and the line at the post office snaked twice around the lobby(大厅). It seemed that no one was moving. The office looked like an exhibit in the Postal Wax Museum. I came to the self-service machine where the line was much shorter.

I don’t like self-service. I tell people it’s because I don’t approve of taking jobs away from people, but the real problem is that I’m not good at it. The machine always asks me something I don’t know the answer to. I hate this. I am a retired letter carrier, and we moved mail in the old-fashioned way hand to hand, human to human. We were fast, friendly, and frequently accurate.

The woman in the front of the line was clicking away at the screen. And the clicks were surprisingly loud. Any signs of hesitation on her part were telegraphed to the whole lobby. I felt sorry for her: The machine could smell fear. The next person took a long time, too. I breathed deeply. By the time it was my turn, I had the heart rate of a yogi(瑜伽修行者).

Under the weight of concern from the people in line behind me, I felt a growing obligation to minimize the seconds between clicks. Finally it was time to slide in a credit card. The machine didn’t take it. “Try putting it in the other way” the gentleman behind me suggested. No good.

“I’ve got a different card,” I said, and fished around for that one, beginning to sweat. The machine wanted a PIN, but not the one I suggested.

“Start over.” I clicked, intending to try the first card again.

Oh no. I had to start all over again.

“I’ m sorry,” I said, looking back, sheepish. “I guess I don't know what I’m doing. You all go ahead.”

“Don’t give up,” said the nice man behind me. “Try it again. We’re all friends here, right?”

Smiles were blooming all down the line. I tried again, clicked with deliberation and sincerity, and introduced my credit card as though I were presenting it to the queen. Finally, I made it!

I couldn’t have been happier. Everyone burst into applause. Comfort and joy!

1.What do we know about the post office?

A.It was pretty large. B.Something went wrong there.

C.It was very busy at Christmas. D.Efficient services were provided.

2.While waiting for his turn, the author was .

A.a little excited B.totally relaxed

C.bored and impatient D.nervous and anxious

3.What does the underlined word “sheepish” in Paragraph 8 mean?

A.Grateful B.Surprised

C.Embarrassed D.Determined

4.What did the man behind the author do?

A.He rushed the author. B.He laughed at the author.

C.He mailed for the author. D.He encouraged the author.

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Author Talks &Lectures in the Toronto Public Library

Ice Ghosts: The Epic Hunt for the Lost Franklin Expedition

Thu Apr 27, 2019

1:00 p.m.—2:00 p.m.

Location: City Hall

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Paul Watson on the epic hunt for the lost Franklin Expedition and the rare mix of marine science and Inuit knowledge that led to the shipwreck’s (海难的) recent discovery.

No registration required.

Toronto 1910: Tales of Our Past: Clergy and Convicts

Tue May 02, 2019

12:00 p.m.—1:00 p.m.

Location: Barbara Frum

Learn about your city’s history and participate in reading and slide show featuring excerpts(节选) from a new historical fiction novel series.

To register, please call 416-395-5440.

Beneath the African Sun with Author Maria Lynch

Wed May 03, 2019

7:00 p.m.—8:00 p.m.

Location: Bloor/Gladstone

Join us for a book talk and Q &A with Maria Lynch, the author of Beneath the African Sun. Beneath the African Sun is a migrant’s story about moving from Portuguese India to British East Africa during the early 20th century. More than a history, it is a story about family, home, social justice and what it means to truly belong somewhere.

Drop in. No registration required.

The Science of Shakespeare

Wed May 10, 2019

7:00 p.m. —8:00 p.m.

Location: Beaches

William Shakespeare lived in the first stage of the scientific revolution. New ideas about the human body, the earth, and the universe were transforming western thought—and—yet “Shakespeare” and “science” are rarely talked about in the same breath. Dan Falk will explore Shakespeare’s interest in the scientific discoveries of his time—asking what he knew, when he knew it, and how that knowledge is reflected in his works.

No registration necessary.

1.Where can you hear a lecture by a Pulitzer-Prize winner?

A.Beaches. B.City Hall.

C.Barbara Frum. D.Bloor/Gladstone.

2.For which event do you need to register?

A.The Science of Shakespeare.

B.Beneath the African Sun with Author Maria Lynch.

C.Toronto 1910: Tales of Our Past: Clergy and Convicts.

D.Ice Ghosts: The Epic Hunt for the Lost Franklin Expedition.

3.What can be inferred from the last lecture?

A.Shakespeare was interested in the universe.

B.Science is touched upon in Shakespeare’s works.

C.The scientific revolution changed Shakespeare’s thought.

D.Shakespeare had a deep understanding of the scientific revolution.

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Directions: Write an English composition in 120-150 words according to the instructions given below in Chinese.

假设你是陈芳。你的好友王敏是新华中学的学生，下个月将去英国的姐妹校交流访问。王敏想拍摄一个短片，向英国的同学和老师介绍自己的学校。她通过邮件向你征求意见。写一封回信，内容须包括:

1、短片的主题以及与之匹配的主要内容；

2、你选择这些内容的理由。

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Directions: Translate the following sentences into English, using the words given in the brackets.

1.我家门口的街道成天车水马龙。(crowd)

_____________________

2.中国女排成功卫冕世界冠军，给全国人民以极大的鼓舞。(succeed)

_____________________

3.本次“城市公共交通周”的活动旨在提高公众节能环保的意识。(aim)

_____________________

4.我实在想不通为什么大伙儿都觉得他这个人高不可攀，我印象中他挺和蔼可亲的。(strike)

_____________________

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Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.

The Decline of Biodiversity

Biodiversity is the range of living things in an area. During the last 100 years, scientists have seen a great decline in biodiversity. Some studies show that one in eight plant species is threatened with extinction. It is estimated that 140,000 species of plants are lost each year.

Most of the extinctions in the last thousand years are due to humans. The main cause is the chopping down of tropical rain forests. Most of this destruction is done to create pasture (牧场) for beef cattle. Many rainforests in Central and South America have been burnt down to make way for cattle farming, which supplies beef to the rest of the world. It is estimated that for each pound of beef produced, 200 square feet of rainforest are destroyed. The forests are also cut down to make wheat for bread as well as fruit for human consumption.

The introduction of exotic (外来的) species is another threat. The latest research from the University of Southampton has revealed the impact of exotic species upon native wildlife, which could potentially lead to the extinctions of local species. When exotic species are introduced to a place, they try to establish a self-sustaining population. While the local species, which haven’t had a chance to evolve, often lack defenses and thus cannot compete against the exotic species.

The disappearance of certain food animals can be disastrous not only to larger animals but also to the entire ecosystem. It is these small creatures which convert much of the energy in an ecosystem from unusable (i.e. microscopic plants, decaying matter, etc.) into usable forms, namely their bodies. Their absence makes most energy and nutrients trapped in forms unusable to other species. This makes the environment less suitable for healthy living, and less capable of producing resources that humans need.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Directions: Read the following passage. Fill in each blank with a proper sentence given in the box. Each sentence can be used only once. Note that there are two more sentences than you need.

Essential Creativity

In a recent survey in America, 62% of people said that creativity was more important to success in the workplace than they had anticipated it would be when they were in school.

1. It is of course possible to scan people’s brains and see which parts are firing when an idea is created, but rather more romantically it can be thought of as something that cannot be identified. Creativity is what comes to you when you least expect it. You cannot demand creativity from your mind, nor can you demand that you are creative in a particular way.

One misconception about creativity is that it is reserved for a few special people. This is not true. 2. Another misconception is that creativity is all about the arts but this simply isn’t true: creativity extends to maths and science in just the way it does to music and literature.

Those who see things differently to others and are confident enough to make their ideas a reality are the ones who make the greatest changes in the world. Consequently, it is incredibly important that schools do not prevent creativity. 3. Students should be taught to ask questions and investigate when things do not make sense. They need to learn to view mistakes as opportunities for learning rather than something that was unsuccessful.

It is worrying that many schools are less concerned now with nurturing creativity when this is the most important time in history for it. It used to be that people worked hard, went to university, and got a job. That was it. But now, everyone works hard, goes to university — and there aren’t the jobs out there that guarantee a safe future. 4. We can use it to set ourselves apart, and channel it to face the challenges of the future.

A. Creativity is associated with many factors.

B. Rather, they should work to expand, grow, and exercise it.

C. Without creativity, we are indistinguishable from the masses.

D. However, creativity can be acquired at any age.

E. It’s hard to work out where exactly creativity comes from.

F. Everyone has the capacity to be creative.

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On August 29th, as Hurricane Dorian tracked towards America’s east coast, Elon Musk, the boss of Tesla, an electric-car maker, announced that some of his customers in the storm’s path would find that their cars had suddenly developed the ability to drive farther on a single battery charge. Like many modern vehicles, Mr. Musk’s products are best thought of as internet-connected computers on wheels. The cheaper models in Tesla’s line-up have parts of their batteries disabled by the car’s software in order to limit their range. At the tap of a keyboard in Palo Alto, the firm was able to remove those restrictions and give drivers temporary access to the full power of their batteries.

Mr. Musk’s computerized cars are just one example of a much broader trend. As computers and connectivity become cheaper, it makes sense to bake them into more and more things that are not, in themselves, computers, creating an “internet of things”.

Such a world will bring many benefits. Consumers will get convenience, and products that can do things non-computerized versions cannot. Businesses will get efficiency, as information about the physical world that used to be uncertain becomes concrete and analyzable.

In the long term, though, the most obvious effects will be in how the world works. Ever more companies will become tech companies; the internet will become everywhere. As a result, a series of unresolved arguments will spill over from the virtual world into the real one.

Start with ownership. As Mr Musk showed, the internet gives firms the ability to stay connected to their products even after they have been sold, transforming them into something closer to services than goods. That has already made the traditional ideas of ownership unclear. When Microsoft closed its ebook store in July, for instance, its customers lost the ability to read titles they had bought (the firm offered refunds). That shifts the balance of power from the customer to the seller.

Virtual business models will jar in the physical world. Tech firms are generally happy to move fast and break things. But you cannot release the beta version (测试版) of a fridge. Apple, a smartphonemaker, provides updates for its phones for only five years or so after their release; users of Android smartphones are lucky to get two. But goods such as washing machines or industrial machinery can have lifespans of a decade or more. Firms will need to work out how to support complicated computerised devices long after their original programmers have moved on.

Data will be another flashpoint. For much of the internet the business model is to offer “free” services that are paid for with valuable user data, collected with consent (同意) that is half-informed at best. In the virtual world, arguments about what should be tracked, and who owns the resulting data, can seem airy and theoretical. In the real one, they will feel more urgent.

Predicting the consequences of any technology is hard — especially one as universal as computing. The emergence of the consumer internet, 25 years ago, was met with starry-eyed optimism. These days the internet’s faults dominate the headlines. But the people have the advantage of having lived through the first internet revolution — which should give them some idea of what to expect.

1.From the passage we can tell that Tesla can ______.

A.drive faster than usual in extreme weather B.adjust the range of its battery power

C.charge the battery at the tap of a keyboard D.operate when the battery is fully drained

2.Which of the following is NOT an example of the “unresolved arguments” mentioned in the passage?

A.Early adopters of certain apps find that they ceased to work after the firm lost interest.

B.The insurance company uses data from fitness trackers to adjust customers’ premiums(保费).

C.Computerized machinery can’t predict its breakdowns or schedule preventive maintenance.

D.A high-tech fridge company restricts its customers from repairing their fridges themselves.

3.The underlined word jar probably means _______ in this context.

A.boom B.conflict C.vanish D.expand

4.This passage is mainly about _______.

A.how the world will change as computers spread into everyday objects

B.the adoption of electric vehicles and the possible problems to expect

C.what should be done to prevent the breakdown of computerized devices

D.different views on the current application of Internet Technology

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Shipping containers are gaining popularity as an alternative to traditional houses. These 20-or 40-foot containers can be obtained for a little as several hundred US dollars apiece, and it’s not surprising that some industry professionals and even city planners consider them the future of home building. Below are details of some amazing homes made out of shipping containers.

London Container City(I and II)

London’s Container City first sprang up in the heart of the docklands in 2001. It took just five months to complete the original 12 work studios. Shortly after that, a fourth floor of studios and living apartments was built on top of these. The first container city was so successful that another — Container City II — was added to it.

Los Angeles Redondo Beach house

With its modern lines and appealing spaces, the award-winning Redondo Beach House is a luxury beachside showpiece built from eight recycled steel shipping containers, along with some traditional building materials. According to the architects, the modified containers are “nearly indestructible”.

Amsterdam Keetwonen

Amsterdam’s massive Keetwonen complex houses 1,000 students and it is the largest container city in the world. The housing project is a roaring success and features units that are quiet and comfortable. Each resident enjoys a bathroom, kitchen and separate sleeping and studying quarters. The complex even has central heating and high-speed internet as well as areas for parking bikes.

Mexico M2ATK Container House

M2ATK designed this unique container house for an artist. It’s fully equipped with heating and cooling, a kitchen and bathroom. On the bottom floor of the house are ‘‘public spaces” such as the kitchen and living room. The second floor is the bedroom, and the top floor is a studio space in which to work, read and “let fly the imagination”.

1.Compared to traditional houses, container houses are _____.

A.easier to maintain B.less expensive to build

C.more comfortable to live in D.more fashionable in style

2.What can be learned about Amsterdam’s Keetwonen complex?

A.It is the first container city in the world. B.It’s equipped with modern facilities.

C.It features a luxury and unique style. D.It includes living space and car parks.

3.Which of the following is the best title for the poster?

A.Recycled material for Ideal Home B.Shipping Container Home Challenges

C.Home in a Steel Box D.Housing Options and Solutions

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Agnes de Mille was a dancer and a choreographer (编舞). Early in her career, de Mille had created the choreography for a ballet called Three Virgins and a Devil. She thought it was good work, but nobody made much of it.

A few years later, de Mille choreographed a ballet named Rodeo. Again, she thought her work was solid, but it resulted in little commercial fame.

Then, in 1943, de Mille choreographed Oklahoma!, a musical show that enjoyed nearly instant success. In the coming years, Oklahoma! would run for an incredible 2,212 performances, both around the nation and abroad. In 1955, the film version won an Academy Award.

But the success of Oklahoma! didn’t bring her much happiness. She thought that her work on Oklahoma! was only average compared to some of her other creations. She later said, “After the opening of Oklahoma!, I suddenly had unexpected success for a work I thought was only fairly good, after years of neglect for work I thought was fine. I began to think that perhaps my entire scale of values was untrustworthy. I talked to Martha.”

Martha was Martha Graham, perhaps the most influential dance choreographer of the 20th century. (Although not as well-known by the general public, Graham has been compared to other creative geniuses like Picasso or Frank Lloyd Wright.)

During their conversation, de Mille told Martha Graham about her frustration. “I confessed that I had a burning desire to be excellent, but no faith that I could be.”

Graham responded by saying:

“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open.”

1.What can be learned about de Mille’s ballet named Rodeo?

A.It earned her a large fortune. B.It made her rise to fame overnight.

C.It didn’t enjoy much success. D.It laid a solid foundation for her career.

2.How did de Mille feel about the great success of the musical Oklahoma!?

A.Relieved. B.Ashamed. C.Confused. D.Proud.

3.Picasso and Frank Lloyd Wright were mentioned in the passage to suggest that Martha Graham ______.

A.was outstanding in visual arts and architecture

B.enjoyed the same popularity as them

C.had been influenced greatly by them

D.was the most influential artist in her field

4.Which of the following statements best represents Graham’s words in this passage?

A.Comparing with others prevents you from maintaining uniqueness.

B.You should always keep yourself open to the urges that motivate you.

C.Your action reveals the inner landscape, which is the soul of music.

D.Choosing to be positive is going to determine how you live your life.

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Since 2008, the average labour-force participation rate of 55- to 64-year-olds in OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries has risen by eight percentage points. A new OECD report, “Working Better with Age”, points out that the employment of older workers is ______, if prosperity is to be maintained. That can be taken as a sign that our society is finally ______ the value of its older employees.

Retirement gives you the chance to sleep late and avoid the morning rush hours. No longer do you have to sit through endless meetings or check email frequently. But work can keep the mind active and gives people a ______ in life. The first month of retirement may seem pleasant, but ______ is sure to come. Grand plans to learn languages and travel the world can quickly lose their appeal. ______, the company of colleagues provides a social network; spending all week at home can lead to loneliness.

Working longer should be easier now that most jobs require ______, rather than manual, labour. Of course, many people are working longer not because they enjoy what they do, but because they cannot afford to ______. That is not just because governments have been pushing up the state retirement age. ______, the average age at which people actually retire differs from the official age by several years. In part, that is because many people do not rely on the state pension as their only source of income and need work-related pensions to supplement it.

However, companies are gradually ______ pensions linked to final salaries with “defined contribution” schemes. Under the latter, workers end up with a pot of savings at retirement that needs to be ______. The income from such pots has been reduced by very low interest rates. Women tend to have smaller retirement pots (thanks to their years spent raising children), making their difficulties even more ______. They need to keep working.

Older workers may feel ______, particularly when it comes to promotion. Two issues seem to hold ______ back. The first is that older workers tend to ______ higher salaries, because of the seniority system. The second is a ______ of skills；one in three 55- to 65-year-olds in OECD countries either lack computer experience or cannot pass technology tests. Such problems can be resolved with proper training, but the over-55s should take it upon themselves to keep up with technological changes.

1.A.shortsighted B.vital C.adequate D.unnecessary

2.A.recognizing B.assessing C.questioning D.transforming

3.A.frame B.choice C.lesson D.purpose

4.A.liberty B.boredom C.priority D.motivation

5.A.However B.Instead C.Therefore D.Furthermore

6.A.mental B.simple C.physical D.routine

7.A.proceed B.continue C.persist D.quit

8.A.In conclusion B.In other words C.In practice D.In particular

9.A.replacing B.furnishing C.increasing D.combining

10.A.registered B.reinvested C.refunded D.removed

11.A.personal B.severe C.emotional D.practical

12.A.competitive B.dominant C.distinguished D.disadvantaged

13.A.employers B.researchers C.employees D.female workers

14.A.command B.ensure C.oppose D.ignore

15.A.range B.discipline C.shortage D.set

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Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

Once upon a time ...

Once upon a time there lived in Germany two brothers. At school they met a wise man who led them to a treasure — a library of old books with tales more fascinating than any they had ever heard. 1.(inspire), the brothers began collecting their own stories, listening to the folktales people told them. Soon they produced their own treasure — a book of fairy tales that would charm millions in faraway lands for generations 2.(come).

The brothers Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm, named their story collection Children’s and Household Tales and published it in Germany in 1812. The collection 3.(translate) into more than 160 languages up to now. The stories and their characters continue to feature in virtually every media: theatre, opera, comic books, movies, paintings, rock music, advertising and fashion.

Such fame would have shocked the modest Grimms. During their lifetimes the collection 4.(sell) few copies in Germany. The early editions were not even aimed at children. They had no illustrations, and scholarly footnotes took up almost as much space as the tales 5.. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm began their work at a time 6. Germany had been occupied by the French under Napoleon. The new rulers restricted local culture. As young scholars, the brothers Grimm began to work on the fairy tale collection in order to save the endangered oral storytelling tradition of Germany.

7. the brothers implied that they were just keeping records of tales, Wilhelm continued to polish and reshape the stories up to the final edition of 1857. In an effort to make them more acceptable to children and their parents, he stressed the moral of each tale and emphasized gender roles. To this day, parents still read them to their children because they approve of the lessons in the stories: keep your promises, don’t talk to strangers, work hard, obey your parents.

Yet 8. all Wilhelm’s additions, the most important part of these stories was left untouched. The cruel treatment of children and the violent punishments handed out to the stories’ bad guys are too much for some parents.

So what accounts for their popularity? Some have suggested that it is 9. the characters are always striving for happiness. But the truth probably lies in their origin. Grimms’ tales were born out of a storytelling tradition without boundaries (界限) of age or culture. The brothers’ skill was to translate these into a universal style of writing that seems to mirror 10. moods or interests we bring to our reading of them. And so it was that the Grimms’ fairy tales lived happily ever after.

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Questions are based on the following passage.

1.A.18-26. B.27-35. C.36-45. D.46-55.

2.A.Jogging. B.Swimming. C.Tennis. D.Cycling.

A.Launch a new promotion campaign. B.Carry out another survey.

C.Increase the production of athletic shoes. D.Hold more athletic competitions.

A.Make products more appealing. B.Follow the trend.

C.Focus on fitness business. D.Target older customers.

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Questions are based on the following passage.

A.Experts who specialize in preventing natural disasters.

B.People trained to respond to medical emergencies.