Pizza is a pretty universal treat, but where did it start? Here are three things you probably didn’t know about pizza.
1: Pizza’s Origins Are Half-Baked.
The Neapolitans（那不勒斯人）in Italy are proud of saying they invented pizza, but it’s probably more accurate to say, they perfected it. The idea of putting toppings on a flatbread and baking it started in the 6th century B. C. But the people of Naples were the first to put tomato on a flatbread in the 16th century. From its start, pizza was a food of the poor, as it was cheap, filling and easy to eat on the run. In Italian, the word “pizza” refers to anything that is made and then pressed flat.
2: Pizza Margherita Is Not Exactly a Symbol of Italy.
It was said some day in 1889, a local baker named Raffaele Esposito created three pizzas for Queen Margherita when she was on a tour of Italy. The queen loved the version that had tomato, basil and mozzarella cheese--- and just happened to match the colors of the Italian flag. So Esposito named the pizza after her.
But Pizza historian Scott Wiener points out that Italy was unified in name only in 1889 so it was unlikely any Neapolitan baker would want to celebrate “the Northern conquerors.” Further, the letter of gratitude for the pizza from the royal household that Pizzeria Brandi displays appears to be a fake（赝品）and may just have been a marketing plan.
3: Hawaliian Pizza Invented by a Canadian.
Sam Panopoulos, from Greece originally moved to Canada at the age of 20. In 1962, he decided to put some ham and pineapple on a pizza at one of his restaurants in Ontario.
“We just put it on for fun to see how it was going to taste,” he told the BBC in 2017. Panopoulos named it the Hawaiian pizza after the brand of canned pineapple he used. The mix of sweet and savory toppings caught on with a certain part of the pizza-loving public. The inventor died in 2017.
1.Who was pizza first made for?
A. The people of Naples.
B. The poor Neapolitan people.
C. The rich Italian people.
D. Queen Margherita specially.
2.What can we learn about Pizza Margherita?
A. It was intended to match the colors of the Italian flag.
B. It was made to celebrate "the Northern conquerors."
C. It was made to cater for Queen Margherta.
D. It was displayed in the royal house.
3.How did the name of Hawaiian Pizza come?
A. It was named after a brand of canned pineapple.
B. It was named after a restaurant in Ontario.
C. It came from a local Hawaiian cook.
D. It came from the pizza-loving public.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
In 2012 my wife and I decided to open our bookstore in spite of unfavorable situations. The challenges facing small bookstores were-and remain-significant. Apart from the obvious rise in online selling, the increase in the popularity of e-books has negatively affected independent providers.
The question is why a new, small-scale（小规模的）provide would voluntarily enter such a challenging market? From a personal view, our reasoning was sound: we wanted to share our love of great books and reading for pleasure with as many like-minded people as possible.
Having done our homework, one thing became clear. In order for us to succeed, we would have to offer something that none of our larger competitors already provided. And so we started the Willoughby Book Club. We set up our website in the summer of 2012, and we haven’t looked back.
The idea of service is simple. We offer a range of book subscription gift packages, available in three-month, six-month and 12-month options. Our customers choose a package, tell us a little about the person they’re buying it for, and we use this information to send the receiver a hand-picked, gift-wrapped book once a month. We also recently decided to give one new book to Book Aid International for every gift subscription sold. These books are sent out to sub-Saharan Africa, supporting the educational work there. Within four months of starting out, we won the Young Bookseller of the Year Award at the 2013 Bookseller awards.
Our brief journey from new booksellers to award receivers has been challenging and rewarding. The biggest thing we’ve learned is that, despite the pressures facing independent providers, there is a place for them in the UK market. It’s just a question of finding it.
1.What challenges do the couple have to face when opening their bookstore?
A. Their bookstore is in an unfavourable place.
B. They are short of money and manpower.
C. Their books tore has limited great books.
D. Online selling and e-books are gaining popularity.
2.What does the underlined word “sound” in Paragraph 2 mean?
A. accurate B. controversial
C. reliable D. safe
3.In order to succeed, the couple have taken practical measures except ________ .
A. setting up a book club
B. building their website
C. sending the customers gifts every month
D. aiding some Africans by giving them new boos
4.What’s the author’s opinion on being an independent provider?
A. It is anything but challenging.
B. It is difficult but worth it.
C. It is too difficult to succeed.
D. It is just a question.
难度: 困难查看答案及解析
Humans’ invention of zero was vital for modern mathematics and science, but we’re not the only species to consider “nothing” a number. Parrots and monkeys understand the concept of zero, and now bees have joined the club, too.
Honey bees are known to have some numerical skills such as the ability to count to four, which may come in handy when keeping track of landmarks in their environment. To see whether these abilities extended to understanding zero, researchers trained 10 bees to identify the smaller of two numbers. Across a series of trials, they showed the insects two different pictures displaying a few black shapes on a white background. If the bees flew to the picture with the smaller number of shapes, they were given delicious sugar water, but if they flew toward the larger number, they were punished with bitter-tasting food.
Once the bees had learned to consistently make the correct choice, the researchers gave them a new choice: a white background containing no shapes at all. Even though the bees had never seen an empty picture before, 64% of the time they chose it rather than a picture containing two or three shapes, the authors report today in Science. This suggests that the insects understood that “zero” is less than two or three. And they weren’t just going for the empty picture because it was new and interesting. Another group of bees trained to always choose the larger number tended to pick the nonzero image in this test.
In further experiments, the researchers showed that bees’ understanding of zero was even more complex: for example, they were able to distinguish between one and zero-a challenge even for some other members of the zero club. Advanced numerical abilities like this could give animals an evolutionary advantage, helping them keep track of predators（捕食者）and food sources. And if an insect can display such a thorough grasp of the number zero, write the researchers, then this ability may be more common in the animal kingdom than we think.
1.According to the trials, the researchers have found that bees ________.
A. have the same intelligence as parrots and monkeys
B. can count many numbers after being trained
C. can identify the smaller number quickly
D. understand the concept of zero
2.The researchers trained another group of bees to ________ .
A. confirm the bees are able to identify the smaller number
B. find the big difference between the two groups of bees
C. prove the bees are interested in new things
D. show the bees can be distinguished easily
3.What do the researchers suggest in further experiments?
A. Bees should be trained more.
B. Numerical abilities could help predators find bees.
C. Insects are better at understanding zero than animals.
D. Animals may display a thorough grasp of the number zero.
4.What is the best the title for the text?
A. New Findings About Bees’ Concept of Zero
B. Experients on Bees’ Numerical Skills
C. Complex Trials About the Zero Club
D. A Science Report of the Species of Bees
难度: 困难查看答案及解析
Some people dream about becoming engineers, Luckily, the new IMAX film Dream Big shows how engineering can improve people’s lives. It teaches viewers how engineers use high-tech to help the world. The film hits IMAX theaters nationwide on February 17 to celebrate Engineers Week.
The film, taking place in locations like China, Dubai and Africa, tells the stories of engineers who try to come up with creative ideas to save energy and help people.
Dream Big was directed by Greg MacGillivray who has 38 films under his belt, including some of the most successful films ever shown in IMAX theaters.
How did MacGillivray get into the moviemaking business? “I grew up at the beach. My first movies were about surfing and the ocean. As time went on, I saw the changes in the ocean including polluting and overfishing. So I started making films about conservation of nature.” He told TFK. Now, his films cover a variety of topics, from the natural world to human creation.
One of the engineers in Dream Big is Angelica Hernandez. In high school, she was on a team that best MIT, a university, in an underwater robotics competition. Today, the engineering work she does focuses on helping people use less energy and save money and resources. “I work with companies to promote energy efficiency with their commercial customers, so it’s really trying to push forward all the measures that customers and high-energy users can apply, she explains.
Engineering is such a good job-you make good money, travel around the world, solve amazing problems and help people.” She says.
The mission of Dream Big is to show people the good that engineers can do to the world. “That was the impulse of making this movie”, MacGillivray explains, “We want to explain engineering in a way that will get the kids very excited about it.” “Whoever and wherever you are, you can become an engineer,” he adds, “All you need is the creative spirit.”
1.Who are the main characters in Dream Big?
A. Engineers. B. Businessmen.
C. Viewers. D. Environmentalists.
2.What do MacGillivray and Angelica Hernandez have in common?
A. They can make robots.
B. They are good at filming.
C. They have won awards in competitions.
D. They care about environmental protection.
3.What is MacGillivray’s purpose of saying the words in the last paragraph?
A. To advise people to have big dreams.
B. To promote his film Dream Big.
C. To encourage people to be engineers.
D. To share his success of Dream Big.
4.What can we infer from the text?
A. Angelica Hernandez will act in more films.
B. Dream Big calls on people to learn from engineers.
C. Dream Big encourages people to make money by being engineers.
D. Engineers have done a lot to help directors to develop IMAX films.
难度: 困难查看答案及解析
Find a quiet location. Keep a routine. Focus on one subject at a time. It all seems like sound advice for students who need to hit the books, 1. . Here’s a list of tips from Carey, a scientist, for getting the most out of your study time:
2.
Doing practice quizzes can help you retrieve（检索）information on test day. “Tests have a very bad reputation as a measurement tool,” Carey says. But psychologists have found self-tests slow down the forgetting of material you’ve studied. “If you study something once, and then you test yourself on it,” Carey says, “you do better than if you study it twice over.”
Move around
3. . “If you move around and study the same material in several places,” he says, “you may be forming multiple associations for the same material. So it’s better anchored in your brain, and you can pull it out easier.”
Mix it up
Think about a football who does strength training, speed training and drills. Carey says alternating between different facets facts of a subject in a single sitting can “leave a deeper impression on the brain”. For example, when studying French, do some verbs, some speaking and some reading. 4. .
Space it out
Information learned in a hurry is lost just as fast. So if you really want to learn, space out shorter, hour-long study sessions. “There’s no doubt that you can cram for（突击备考）an exam.” Carey says, “5. . And once it’s gone, “it’s gone. You’re not getting it back.”
A. Test yourself
B. Study it and practice more
C. and it turns out that some of them are in great help
D. but recent studies indicate the conventional wisdom is wrong
E. The problem is that it’s so easy to forget what you just crammed
F. Changing up where you study can help you keep more information
G. Spending your time in deep concentration on just verbs isn’t effective
难度: 困难查看答案及解析
If we redouble our efforts, our dreams will come true. Chen Zuobin had _________ for 13 years already. Finally, he decided to become a _________ again. Born in a mountain village in Anhui province, Chen Zuobin walked out of the _________ for study when he was 19. Thought he had a _________ life as a creative director of an international agency in Shanghai, he couldn’t _________ the anxiety reflected in his dreams.
“I dreamed about _________ branch roads several times a year. I didn’t know which one leads to _________ . It made me feel terrible.” One day, Chen Zuobin said to his wife, “I want to go home.” _________ being surprised, his wife said, “_________ your heart. Don’t worry about me.”
The young couple returned to their hometown and __________ the Real Food Farm just to lead a real and simple life. Chen Zuobin shook off the __________ and tiredness from too much __________ in the city. Only in the mountains can they enjoy the __________ air. There isn’t the smell of tail gas, but the smell of __________ when it shines over the woods. They live a life of “eating healthily and __________ well.
In a time when eating __________ becomes a luxury（奢侈）in the __________ life, it’s truly a right way to return to the __________ . “Life is a journey of __________ the proper way.” Said Chen Zuobin.
Those dreams about branch roads have __________ because he has found his own path.
1.A. dreamed B. lived C. struggled D. hesitated
2.A. villager B. worker C. manager D. farmer
3.A. mountains B. deserts C. nation D. city
4.A. hard B. successful C. simple D. cozy
5.A. remove B. remember C. expose D. imagine
6.A. muddy B. vague C. countless D. straight
7.A. Rome B. home C. future D. destination
8.A. In terms of B. In spite of C. In place of D. Instead of
9.A. Concern B. Observe C. Follow D. Open
10.A. left B. sold C. built D. ruined
11.A. anxiety B. loneliness C. sadness D. joy
12.A. desire B. workload C. relation D. money
13.A. warm B. thin C. smelly D. fresh
14.A. water B. dust C. sunlight D. smog
15.A. playing B. sleeping C. dressing D. studying
16.A. carefully B. quickly C. properly D. happily
17.A. urban B. real C. country D. family
18.A. nature B. simplicity C. wildness D. beginning
19.A. changing B. directing C. leading D. finding
20.A. faded away B. passed away C. put away D. run away
难度: 困难查看答案及解析
阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式
Rivers are one of our most important natural resources. Many of the world’s great cities are located on rivers and almost every country has at least one river 1. (flow) through it, which plays an important part in the lives of 2. (it) people.
Since the beginning of history, people 3. (use) rivers for transportation. The Yellow River and Changliang River play a large role in China. The Mississippi, the 4. (long) one in the United States ever influenced the American people 5. (great) in history. The lifeline of Egypt is the Nile. Rivers provide fresh water 6. drink, grow crops, make electricity and chances to have fun for those 7. live along their banks.
8. the cities grow in size and industries increase in number, the river water is severely being polluted. It urges all countries to make 9. (decide) and take immediate action to stop it from 10. (pollute) any more.
难度: 困难查看答案及解析
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处错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏词符号（∧），并在其下面写出修改后的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，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限一词。
2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Nowadays online voting is very popular in China and it has bad effects for people. Some people feel annoyed when ask to do what they don't like it. In general，online voting don't depend on the competitors' strength. But it usually lies in how much social networking resources we have，so it is unfair. Worse still，it might be commercial trick played by the organizer.
Therefore，it was very necessary that regulation should be worked out and strictly observed.
难度: 困难查看答案及解析
假设你是李华，在你校学习的英国交换生Kavin计划寒假回国看望父母和朋友。他email你希望给他推荐几件有中国特色的礼物带回国。请根据题示给他写一封电子邮件。
主要内容包括：
1. 推荐的礼物（中国结、剪纸、丝巾等）；
2. 推荐的理由；
3. 希望和祝愿。
注意；1. 词数100左右；2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
生词：中国结——Chinese knot
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难度: 困难查看答案及解析