Life is not always easy. One day you wake up feeling like you can take over the world, and the next day you wake up feeling like all you want to do is to lie in bed and hide from everything.
People walk into your life, grab your hand, and lead you through the most beautiful path you’ve known, but sometimes the same people let go of your hand without warning, and you become stranded at a place where you never thought you’d feel lost.
Let’s be honest, sometimes everything is going so great and it seems like nothing could go wrong, but right when you begin to think that, something so horrible comes crashing down and all of a sudden more problems come drowning around you and you just feel so hopeless because it’s so bad…
It’s so hard to understand why such things happen in life, and I personally wish I had an answer to that “why” you always ask yourself, but all I can say is no matter how hard life gets, you have to keep going. The life around you will never stop going on.
I’ll be honest and say that sometimes I feel a little bit worried and all I can think is “Will I be able to keep up? What if everything goes too fast?” But I realize that being scared and living with that burden of running away from problems only slow me down even more.
And I’ve come to the point where I believe that because life never stops, I shouldn’t stop either. It’s okay to take a break and to give yourself time to heal, but you cannot give up and you cannot quit.
Keep positive, fill your heart with gratitude for what you already have, and always remind yourself to be humble and true to who you are!
1.How does the author illustrate “Life is not always easy”?
A. By making comparisons B. By using some famous sayings
C. By presenting his own experience D. By listing statistics
2.According to the author, it is to try running away from problems.
A. pointless B. reasonable
C. helpful D. considerate
3.Which saying can exhibit the author’s attitude towards life?
A. Save against a rainy day.
B. Constant dripping wears away the stone.
C. A good medicine tastes bitter.
D. Think it over before you leap.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
We humans spend about one-third of life asleep. Sleep helps us stay healthy, and it also helps our brain remember. Our brains need good sleep to remember what we do and learn during the other two thirds of our life when we are awake. Besides keeping us healthy, some new research shows that a good night’s sleep helps make us more intelligent.
Researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have found that sleep helps improve brain performance by shrinking synapses in the brain. A synapse is the area where cells pass messages to other cells.
Cirelli is a leading scientist at the school’s Center for Sleep and Consciousness. She found that sleep is when the human brain mixes information it has learned while awake into its general collection of knowledge. However, the brain forgets unimportant details. This forgetting is important. It makes space for new learning and new memories.
Cirelli said that the Center’s research began with this hypothesis: We sleep so that our brain can repair and refresh itself. She said the idea seems simple and reasonable. However, testing and discovering how it works has been extremely difficult. Cirelli and Center director Giulio Tononi have been trying to prove the connection between sleep and the brain’s synapses since 2003. Cirelli said the researchers knew that “stronger synapses are also bigger.” So, they began their study by “measuring the size of the synapses” in the brain.
They also knew that during sleep, the brain checks on all its synapses and resets itself for the next day. The team wanted to see if the synapses of the brain are bigger after being awake all day and smaller after a good night’s sleep. Synapses are only about 20-40 nanometers wide. So, the team looked for changes in these already tiny spaces between nerve cells. The team had lo wail until improvements in laboratory technology made it possible to see these tiny changes.
Cirelli says they found that synapse size and strength are upset by being awake and restored by sleeping. She says our synapses shrink as our brains clean themselves during sleep. We wake up refreshed and ready to fill those synapses with new information.
1.Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A. Sleep can only keep us healthy.
B. Sleep can help our brain function better.
C. Sleep can mix all the information.
D. Sleep can take up two-thirds of our life.
2.What does it refer to in Paragraph 4?
A. The measuring the size of the synapses.
B. The space for new learning and new memories.
C. The way our brain can repair and refresh itself.
D. The connection between sleep and the brain’s synapses.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
My Dear Stuart,
We are overjoyed at your generously long letter. We have been rather worried about you since your reticent Xmas card from Spain. We thought that your indignation at Fascist (Natsi) terrors might have made you join the Spanish Republican army on leaving Oxford. In that case, the world would certainly gain a hero, but we might (O horrible thought!) lose a friend. You can imagine our relief to hear from you again.
We shall be here for another four or five months yet, and we shall sail home in September. Not that we have homes to return to! Our houses, spared by the shell-fire, have been looted and gutted of all their valuable contents. Our families have taken refuge in mountains. My wife lost her mother, and I myself have no hope of getting jobs in China. However, one’s own people; I don’t mind suffering a bit. The revolution of the Fortune’s wheel might bring us up, and, as Goethe (歌德，著名诗人) was fond of saying, abwarten Sie.
Yes, Stuart, I have been working entirely on my own. I have tried to read French literature systematically downwards, beginning with Villon, and already got as far as the mid-nineteenth century. I have also read the German romantics. I am reading Taine’s novel. Besides, I have not neglected my English and Chinese studies.
Oh, my baby daughter is bursting fat. She already boasts of six teeth (each tooth meaning a week or so of worries and sleeplessness on her part as well as our own). She is very naughty and self-willed. She will be able to walk a little next month.
My wife sends you her best wishes. Write to me at your earliest convenience.
Yours ever,
Chung-shu Tchi’ien
P.S. My wife wants me to tell you that the baby is really “her father’s daughter”. She loves nothing so much as books—to tear and nibble at, certainly not to read. She throws away her toys to grab at the books we happen to be reading.
1.If published, the letter can be found in the column of .
A. continued stories B. cover story
C. book review D. anecdotes and life
2.We can infer from the letter that .
A. the writer’s homeland was suffering from a terrible war
B. the writer, as well as Stuart, was fond of Chinese literature
C. the writer and his family had never planned to leave for homeland
D. Stuart was leaving for China together with the writer and his family
3.The expression abwarten Sie in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to .
A. ignore helplessly B. escape hopelessly
C. seek desperately D. wait patiently
4.The tone of the writer’s writing about his daughter is .
A. casual B. cautious
C. humorous D. determined
难度: 困难查看答案及解析
Tips for Using Google Maps When You Travel
Traveling somewhere new can bring exciting adventures. But it can also bring unwelcome surprises. That may be in the tools you use before and during your trip. With the right technology, you can make the most of your time on the road. 1.. While people most commonly use Google Maps for directions from one place to another, it offers many other kinds of travel tools. Today, we bring you several tips for using Google Maps.
1. Plan a road trip route
When you are traveling on a road trip, you do not have to plan each part of the trip separately with Google Maps. 2.. To plan a road trip, open Google Maps. Search for your first destination, and then click on the arrow to get directions. Then, click on the plus + sign to add more destinations to your trip.
2. Save your maps for offline use
3.. Or you may not want to pay international charges for using your phone in other countries. The good news is that you can still use Google Maps even without the Internet. You can download a map from Google Maps to your phone. To do this, open the Google Maps app on your phone and search for the area you want to save. Click on the address at the bottom of the screen, then choose Download.
3. Use Google Maps for a walk or bike ride
While Google Maps may first give users directions to a place by car, it also offers biking or walking directions.4.. The results also tell you the elevation change of the route, so you know how much energy you will have to use by choosing to walk or ride a bicycle.
4. Save money on gas
If you are planning a car trip in North America, Google Maps can show you the lowest gas prices in the United States and Canada. Search for “gas stations” on the Google Maps app and you will see a list of nearby stations with gas prices. 5.. Therefore, Google Maps is really a great convenience to tourists.
A. When you are traveling, you may not always have access to the Internet.
B. Google Maps has many tech tools that help make traveling easier.
C. You can get those directions by clicking the walking or bicycle icon.
F. The apps and maps are of great help when people are going to a store or supermarket.
E. They will also be marked on the map so that you can see the closest ones to you.
G. You can search for all of the parts of the trip in order to plan your route more efficiently.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
In 1975, when I was fifteen, my grandmother suffered a terrible disease and died. ______ my memories of her are still vivid. I ______ her telling me stories, kissing me ______ and whispering just before I fell asleep: “Good night, darling.”
She ______ tell me many stories. I felt the sadness and ______ when she told about her only son being ______ missing in an action after D-day (诺曼底登陆). I felt the ______ a wife felt as throat cancer robbed her beloved husband of speech and ______ of life. Grandma never cried when telling these stories. She told them straight out, quietly and afterward, she always ______ a long, deep sigh and said, “Oh, kid, it’s a great life if you don’t weaken.”
A few years ago, my life took a stressful turn and ______ enough, I found my grandma and her stories frequently ______ my mind. I realized then ______ she had not left me any keepsake (纪念品), she had left me the greatest ______ —her strength, her perseverance, and her courage to face life head-on. She gave me the ______ I lacked. Grandma could ______ the difficulties of her life, and I knew I could, too.
Often at ______ now, I tell my daughter stories. We laugh and sigh, and occasionally a tear falls. Then just ______ my child’s eyelids begin to drop and her breathing becomes ______, I lean over and ______ my lips against her cheek. And I hear a ______ in the darkness whispering with me, “Good night, darling.”
1.A. Or B. Then C. But D. So
2.A. remember B. appreciate C. enjoy D. admire
3.A. carefully B. gently C. hardly D. kindly
4.A. would B. could C. should D. might
5.A. loneliness B. silliness C. tiredness D. helplessness
6.A. declared B. suspected C. reminded D. informed
7.A. anger B. apology C. sorrow D. shame
8.A. reasonably B. eventually C. considerably D. painfully
9.A. set out B. set down C. let down D. let out
10.A. peacefully B. hopefully C. comfortably D. curiously
11.A. occurring B. reading C. occupying D. understanding
12.A. although B. since C. that D. unless
13.A. item B. gift C. story D. time
14.A. force B. will C. energy D. freedom
15.A. look through B. go through C. sec through D. gel through
16.A. mealtime B. suppertime C. bedtime D. lunchtime
17.A. as B. while C. before D. until
18.A. hard B. rough C. tough D. soft
19.A. turn B. pull C. press D. lift
20.A. sound B. voice C. figure D. man
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
China used to be called the “Kingdom of Bicycles” in the 1980s and the 1990s, but since then, cars 1. (take) over the country. Because of traffic jams, 2. can be difficult to travel across major Chinese cities. Even 3. (go) a few kilometers can take up to an hour. Now, new apps that help people use bikes are being used more and more across cities.
Cheng Li started using bike share services about six 4. (month) ago. He said now he was using a car less and the metro (地铁)5.. “After I get off the metro, I usually have to walk another kilometer or two, so I’ll grab a bike share and go. It is convenient.”
For many, the best part about cycling is how easy it is to do. 6., many of its bike share stations were not placed in convenient places. Now, it is easy to find a bike, and to register with 7. smart phone.
Meanwhile, there is now a lot of competition among bike share providers because of their popularity. Some providers are trying to flood the streets 8. bikes to be more visible. Sometimes there are so many bikes 9. they completely block the sidewalks.
This has become a problem for city governments. It is not uncommon for bike users to leave bikes in the middle of the street or on the sidewalk. This blocks cars and people in already 10. (crowd) cities.
A woman interviewed by the media said, “Bike sharing is really convenient, but we need taking care of the problem of illegally parked bikes.”
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
假如你是李华，你代表学校给外教John写一封信，请他对你校正在创建的英语口语教室提点建议。内容包括：
1.口语教室的重要性；
2.主要功能（上口语课，举办各类活动）；
3.征求建议。
注意：
1.词数80左右，开头已为你写好；
2.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear John,
I’m Li Hua, one of your students from Grade Three.
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Looking forward to your reply!
Yours sincerely,
Li Hua
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
According to most people, after a long period of studying or working, we need to have a rest to refresh ourselves. However, that may not be the case. According to a recent report, you don’t need the break as much as you may think that makes you feel less tired.
Scientists have long assumed that willpower is a limited resource, which is why you feel the need to have a rest, have a snack and then get back to task when you are feeling better. They argue that the only way it restores willpower is by rest, food or entertainment.
But psychologists have challenged this theory, saying weak willpower is all in your head. They have found that people’s belief in willpower determines how long and how well they’ll be able to work on tough mental exercise. “If you think of willpower are something that is not really used up, you can go on and on.” said Professor Veronika Job.
The researchers designed four experiments to test students’ belief in willpower. After a tiring task, those who believed, or were led to believe that willpower is a limited resource, performed worse on standard concentration tests than those who thought of willpower as something they had more control over. They also found that leading up to the final exam week, students who believed the limited resource theory ate junk food 24 percent more often than those who believed they had more control in resisting the temptation.
Mr. Job said, “The theory that willpower is a limited resource is interesting. Belief in willpower as a non-limited resource makes people stronger in their ability to work through challenges.”
The findings can help people who are battling against temptation. Willpower isn’t driven by a biologically-based process as much as we used to think. The belief in it is what influences your behaviors.
难度: 困难查看答案及解析