No matter where you live or how you define yourself, these are some of the best activities to get in touch with nature.
Hiking
One of the easiest and most accessible ways to get close to nature is by setting out on a good old hike. Hiking generally doesn’t require any special equipment or special skills; just a good pair of boots, a map, and a thirst for adventure. This activity can be as relaxing as you make it. Suggestion: consider doing a little advance research on Trails.com or Every Trail.com.
Backcountry Camping
Why limit yourself to just a day hike when you can have a full weekend (or longer) adventure? Backcountry camping involves packing your tent, sleeping bag, food, and water on your back to set up camp in a remote location. If you’re an experienced hiker and camper, this is an excellent way to test your survival skills and explore the wildness. Many parks require backpackers to obtain permits, so make sure to register and map your route before stepping on the trail.
Mountain and Road Biking
Unlike long hikes through the woods, biking allows you to cover more ground and travel farther while still being in nature. Mountain biking typically involves riding up and down steep slopes, between trees, and over rocks. If this sounds too intense or your tires aren’t suited for a rocky path, consider taking a road bike or a hybrid on paved trails through forest preserves or along country roads.
1.What is especially suggested before hiking?
A. Having a new pair of boots.
B. Having a map.
C. Having athirst for adventure.
D. Doing some advance research on the websites.
2.Which of the following items is NOT necessary when taking backcountry camping according o the passage?
A. A tent. B. A cell phone.
C. Food. D. Some water.
3.What is the typical character of the mountain biking?
A. You have to get permits.
B. You have to do some research in advance.
C. You can ride up and down the mountains.
D. You must have a road bike.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Two weeks ago, Ray Johnstone, an elderly man living alone in South Australia, posted a classified advertisement in search of a friend. Specifically, he was on the hunt for a fishing partner, as he no longer had anyone to share his hobby with. “I’m a widowed retired man who is looking for a fishing mate,” he wrote on Gumtree, “My fishing mate is now deceased. He will never accompany me to go fishing. I am a land-based fisherman. I have all the gear for all types of fish that is required for land-based fishing.”
Like all of us, 22-year-old Mati Batsinilas was touched by the man’s advertisement, so he reached out to him and arranged an outing. Rather than simply spend the day with Johnstone somewhere local, however, he and his family offered to take him on an all-inclusive weekend fishing trip of Stradbroke Island in Queensland. And, as expected, they had a good time. “While on the island we covered four-wheel driving, site-seeing, fishing, swimming, chats with the locals and the best of all... just relaxing and chatting like mates,” Batsinilas wrote in a Facebook post. “Once you reach a level of maturity in life, age should only be a number. My respect for Johostone is obviously very high, but I treated him exactly the way I would have treated one of my 22-year-old mates.”
Fortunately, it sounds like Johnstone won't have to place more classified advertisements any time soon. In addition to finding a friend, the pensioner has become a star on the Internet, with many social media users voicing their interests in meeting the now-famous fisherman.
1.What was the aim of Ray Johnstone’s posting a classified advertisement?
A. He wanted to sell all his tools.
B. He wanted to show off his excellent fishing skills.
C. He wanted to find a friend to go fishing with.
D. He wanted to find a friend to sell all his caught fish.
2.What does the underlined word “deceased” in the first paragraph mean?
A. ill B. unfriendly
C. angry D. dead
3.What was Mati Batsinilas’ attitude towards Ray Johnstone?
A. He thought Johnstone was too old to go fishing with.
B. He treated Johnstone like a senior citizen and took him to travel.
C. He thought his father would make friends with Johnstone.
D. He treated the old man as a friend of the same age.
4.What will happen after Ray Johnstone posted the classified advertisement?
A. There will be no advertisements for friends-hunting on the internet.
B. More people will go online to read his latest information.
C. More people will come to make friends with Ray Johnstone.
D. Ray Johnstone will regret what he did on the Internet and move away.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
How do you get to Carnegie Hall? “Practice, practice, practice” is the well-known answer. But for some inspirting young musicians from the Afghanistan National Institute of Music in Kabul, the road to the famous concert ball was more difficult.
The Afghan Youth Orchestra(AYO) is made up of young people who study at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music. It was the first orchestra created in Afghanistan in 30 years.
Gulalai Norestani, 14, plays a traditional string instrument. Like many students, Gulalai became an orphan when her parents were killed during the ongoing war. Music is her salvation. “Music for me is a language of peace,” Gulalai said. “It connects people.”
Milad Yousufi, 18, is a piano student. “Music is my life,” he said. Milad also lost many of his family members during the war. When music was banned, he couldn’t even touch a piano. So as a 12-year-old boy, he started painting and drawing. “I used to draw a piano,” he said. Finally, Milad was free to play a real piano. “Our dream came true,” he said, “It is everyone’s dream to play in Carnegie Hall.”
And he has more dreams. “I have a dream to continue my education in America,” he explained. “I am working hard to make that happen. Then I have a dream to come back to Afghanistan and teach and serve people.”
Because of continuing limits in Afghanistan, Gulalai and Milad listen mostly to the kind of classical music they played at Carnegie Hall. But Gulalai says she’s heard a bit of Jennifer Lopez and Shakira and she likes them. Milad says he has heard of Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber, but hasn’t yet had a chance to listen to them.
Before Milad went onstage that night with the band of Afghan kids who had survived a war, I asked him if he had ever experienced true peace. “No, not yet,” he answered, adding, “I hope I will be able to.”
Later during the performance, as he played one of Carnegie Hall’s famous grand pianos, the look of pure joy on his face convinced me that he found peace in music.
1.In the opinion of Gulaai, music __________ .
A. makes people understand each other
B. calms her down in the war
C. is a kind of violent language
D. saves her from the killing at war
2.What is Milad’s final goal?
A. To play a real piano.
B. To be a teacher.
C. To play in Carnegie Hall.
D. To be educated in America.
3.According to the passage, __________.
A. classical music is not played in Afghanistan
B. Gulalai knows Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber well
C. the music Gulalai and Milad can hear is limited
D. Milad likes Jennifer Lopez and Shakira
4.What may be the best title for the text?
A. Traditional Afghan Music
B. Young Musicians
C. A Better Performance
D. A Peace in Music
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
When seeing the doctor, you feel better to know you will get some medicine. But the doctor knows that medicine is not always needed. Sometimes all a sick person needs is some reassurance that all will be well. In such cases the doctor may prescribe a placebo.
A placebo is a sugar pill, a harmless shot, or an empty capsule. The patient thinks it is medicine and begins to get better. How does this happen?
The study of the placebo opens up new knowledge about the way the human body can heal itself. It is as if there was a doctor in each of us. The doctor will heal the body for us if we let it. But it is not yet known just how the placebo works to heal the body. Some people say it works because the human mind fools itself. These people say that if the mind is fooled into thinking it got medicine, then it will act as if it did, and the body will feel better.
Placebos don’t always work. The success of this treatment seems to rest a lot with the relationship between the patient and the doctor. If the patient has lots of trust in the doctor and if the doctor really wants to help the patient, then the placebo is more likely to work. So in a way, the doctor is the most powerful placebo of all.
A placebo can also have bad effects. If patients expert a bad reaction to medicine, then they’ll also show a bad reaction to the placebo. Some doctors still think that if the placebo can have bad effects it should never be used. They think there is still not enough known about it.
The strange power of the placebo does seem to suggest that the human mind is stronger than we think it is. There are people who say you can heal your body by using your mind. And the interesting thing is that even people who swear this is not possible have been healed by a placebo.
1.What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 5 refer to?
A. The placebo. B. The bad effect.
C. The body. D. The medicine.
2.What do we know about the placebo according to the passage?
A. It contains some sort of medicine
B. It won’t function if you are negative about medicine
C. People who don’t believe placebo can’t be healed by it
D. Patients and doctors know clearly how it helps to heal the body
3.Why is the doctor sometimes the most powerful placebo?
A. Because patient needs help badly.
B. Because patient believes in the doctor and the doctor wants to help the patient.
C. Because doctor knows better about the patient’s body.
D. Because doctor has carefully studied medicine.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A. Placebo: Work on Your Mind
B. Placebo: The Most Powerful Medicine
C. Placebo: The Best Doctor
D. Placebo: Heal the Body
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Weighed down by study? Pushed to the limit by the fast pace of life? Frightened by the possible war? Well, you’re not alone. 1.
In the past years, more than 15 laughter clubs have been set up across the country. People of all ages go to release their stress with an hour group laughs. “People telephoned me and said they have forgotten what it is to laugh. 2. So they come,” said 40-year-old Jocelyne Le Moan. She usually takes a class of around 60 people through a series of laughter techniques.
Her pupils range from teenagers to 70 years old, but most are middle-aged white collars seeking 60 minutes of relaxation at the end of a busy day. Le Moan takes them through the “Lion Laugh” and the “Laugh Contest”, where participants “speak” to each other in different ways. 3.. At the end there are 15 minutes of “meditation”, when they lie on their backs and let the laughs burst out of their mouths.
“I love it. It’s an experience that has changed my life. Through it I rediscovered the child’s laugh inside-me,” said Romain Jouffroy, 24. “US President Obama should give it a try. He has lost his laugh,” she joked. 4.
The physical benefits of laughter are already well recognized. Doctors say the act of laughing releases chemicals into the blood stream, while the quick breathing that accompanies it helps massage（按摩）the digestive organs and strengthens the heart.
5.. People believe that laughter is a way of making oneself feel more confident Humor lightens your burdens, inspires hopes, connects you to others, and keeps you steadfast, focused and alert. Nothing can work faster or more efficiently to bring your mind and body back into balance than a good laugh.
A. Laugh is only a short joy but we need it.
B. And instead of talking, they break into fits of laughter.
C. It is a big surprise to have a chat in a relaxed, pleasant atmosphere.
D. Many club members also find themselves changed into children again.
E. They want to find a place where they can escape all their problems for a while.
F. Laughter is a powerful treatment to psychological problems such as stress, pain and conflict.
G. Quite a few people in France are seeking relief using the world’s best medicine-laughter.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Having a pet dog at home can be beneficial in many ways. It can teach you the value of responsibility, companionship, and caring for something other than yourself. Owning a pet dog is not just a temporary thing. 1. You should care for your pet dog properly so you do not neglect it and help your parents train the pet dog so it is well behaved. You should also make sure you deal with any issues your pet dog is having responsibly so you do not harm your pet dog in any way.
2. You should start by providing the necessities for your pet dog, including food and fresh water. Your parents may already have a feeding schedule set up, with set times in the day for feeding your pet dog. You should follow this feeding schedule and ask your parents if you can help it with giving your pet dog food and water on a daily basis.
Clean up after the pet dog. You can also be a good pet owner by making sure you clean up after your dog. This means picking up any food that falls out of its food bowl and wiping up any water around its water dish so its feeding area is clean. 3.
Take your pet dog for daily walks. 4. You should create a walking schedule with your parents and assist your parents in walking your pet dog. You may put the collar or harness on the dog and take a tarn holding the leash during the walk, with the supervision of a parent.
Play with your pet dog. You should spend at least ten to fifteen minutes a day playing with your pet dog so that it feels loved and acknowledged by you. 5.
A. Give food and water to the pet dog.
B. Train your pet dog with simple orders.
C. It is a permanent responsibility that you must care for on a daily basis.
D. Never ever try playing jokes on your pet dog, because it will get hurt easily.
E. You should also use encouraging words and reward it with a treat if it behaves well when playing
F. You can also pick up any pet toys and put them in one area so that they are not scattered all over house.
G. You may have a pet dog that is medium to large in size, you will need to walk it on a daily basis.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
What a man offered to take care of a stranger’s baby so that the baby's mother could rest on a recent flight, many people on the plane watched it.
“It was so ________,” one passenger, Andrea Byrd said. She shot a photo of the man ________ the baby up and down the aisle and ________ it on Facebook, where it spread ________.
“I was ________,” Byrd wrote in the post, which has been shared almost 100,000 ________. “Not because he was white and she was black ________ because it showed me today that there are still good people out there in a world ________ evil.”
The Southwest Airlines flight was ________ from Minneapolis to Atlanta on September. 5.
The mom, Monica Nelson, who is pregnant, said she had been ________ about traveling alone with her 20-month-old son Luke. When he grew annoyed and wouldn’t ________, the man seated next to them ________ her by offering to help, she said. He walked ________ the aisle holing the boy, relaxing him to sleep.
“It was such a ________ because I was a little worried traveling ________ my husband there to help out” said Nelson, a teacher who lives in Atlanta. “I’m still very ________—he was so kind.” She said the man’s name is Reid, and she learned that he also has a son ________ Luke.
Byrd said die was particularly ________ by the scene because she has two children of her own and could put herself in the mom’s ________. Now their story has touched thousands of people across the world, reminding people how powerful a simple act of ________ can be.
1.A. touching B. annoying C. exciting D. embarrassing
2.A. crying B. walking C. carrying D. getting
3.A. healed B. posted C. sent D. took
4.A. slowly B. gradually C. normally D. quickly
5.A. with smile B. in tears C. in need D. in horror
6.A. measures B. days C. times D. directions
7.A. but B. and C. so D. or
8.A. regardless of B. in case of C. because of D. full of
9.A. heading B. facing C. handing D. shouldering
10.A. energetic B. different C. nervous D. confused
11.A. drink B. rest C. read D. scream
12.A. saw B. disturbed C. surprised D. governed
13.A. here and there B. inside out C. now or never D. up and down
14.A. thief B. belief C. chief D. relief
15.A. without B. with C. beyond D. under
16.A. careful B. hopeful C. grateful D. forgetful
17.A. named B. recorded C. regarded D. founded
18.A. remembered B. moved C. translated D. dressed
19.A. hats B. shoes C. coats D. socks
20.A. happiness B. sadness C. illness D. kindness
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
（题文）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处诺言错误，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：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
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仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起)不计分。
I’m a huge book-lover but like sharing my love for books! So I’ve been bought books constantly. Finishing reading one book, I placed it in or around my school so that some of my schoolmate can enjoy themselves when reading it I especial like placing it on a stone table in the little garden in that students might have time to take a rest. I was delighted an other day when I saw a card left on the table to say thanks. And from the card, I knew my book turned out of to be a birthday gift for a strange girl. It was so lovely find out that my book could bring anyone pleasure!
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
假定你是李华，你的英国网友Leslie不久要来中国留学，他想了解一些日常生活中和他人保持联系的方法。请你写信向他推荐微信(WeChat)软件，并期待他早日到来。
内容包括：
1.使用广泛；
2.方便快捷；
3.节省费用。
注意：
1.词数100左右；
2.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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难度: 中等查看答案及解析