Sam Martin, 24, from Belfast
I do all my shopping on Christmas Eve because I prefer to get it done quickly. I certainly don't enjoy shopping. It doesn't matter when I shop-I probably won't buy gifts that people will want anyway. I just choose from whatever is there. I am never disappointed because I don't know what to buy for others before I get to the shop, and I don't care about getting it at the best price. My friends call me last-minute shopper.
Lucy Collins, 34, from Liverpool
I've always finished all my shopping by the middle of August. I buy when things are cheap and when I can afford to. I also enjoy trying to buy as many gifts as possible at less than the full price. This year, I've spent £230 and saved £695 on the prices.
I think Christmas is a magical time so I like looking for gifts throughout the year. I also like knowing I've bought presents that people will enjoy, rather than picking through whatever is left in the shops on Christmas Eve.
Frankie Bircham, 31, from Hertfordshire
I've always finished shopping by the end of September. I like the satisfaction of giving people presents they want-I don't like "Oh, that'll do". I prefer to buy online so I can compare prices to make sure I' m getting the best possible deal. It's cheaper than travelling into London to go shopping and I can easily return anything I don't like when it arrives.
Andi Euridge, 40, from London
I start my shopping in January and have always finished it by November. I don't like onlir shopping because then you have the craziness of parcels not arriving in time.
I live on a tight budget and I cannot afford to buy all my gifts with one month's pay. So I prefer picking up a present here and there throughout the year.
1.We can learn from the text that Sam Martin .
A.is an organized shopper B.always buys presents at a discount
C.hates shopping in a hurry D.enjoys doing some last-minute shopping
2.What do Lucy Collins and Frankie Bircham have in common?
A.They do shopping when the shops are quiet.
B.They choose presents everywhere.
C.They like online shopping
D.They care about the receivers' feelings.
3.Why does Andi Euridge dislike online shopping?
A.It causes anxiety when parcels don't arrive in time.
B.It's not much cheaper than shops.
C.Returning the goods troubles him.
D.It makes him run over budget.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
October 15th is Global Hand Washing Day. Activities are planned in more than twenty countries to get millions of people in the developing world to wash their hands with soap.
Experts say people around the world wash their hands but very few use soap at so-called critical moments. These include after using the toilet, after cleaning a baby and before touching food.
Global Hand Washing Day is the idea of the Public-Private Partnership for hand washing with soap. The goal, they say, is to create a culture of hand washing with soap. The organizers say all soaps are equally effective at removing disease-causing germs. They say the correct way to wash is to wet your hands with a small amount of water and cover them with soap. Rub it into all areas including under the fingernails. Then, rinse well under running water. Finally, dry your hands with a clean cloth.
The Partnership says soap is important because it increases the time that people spend washing. Soap also helps to break up the dirt that holds most of the germs. And it usually leaves a pleasant smell, which increases the chances that people will wash again. It also says that washing hands with soap before eating and after using the toilet could save more lives than any medicine. It could help reduce cases of diarrhea（痢疾）, which is the second leading cause of children deaths. Do remember October 15th-Global Hand Washing Day!
1.What's the best title for this passage?
A.Say no to washing hands.
B.Hand washing: so important—it gets a day of its own.
C.Find out why washing hands carefully is so important.
D.Want to live a longer life?—wash your hands.
2.The underlined word "rinse" in Paragraph 3 probably means .
A.to dry your hands B.to clean your fingers
C.to rub your hands carefully D.to wash away the soap
3.The last paragraph mainly tells us .
A.why washing hand with soap is so important
B.how to wash your hands correctly
C.the dangers of washing hands without soap
D.when we should especially wash our hands with soap
4.In which part of newspaper would you most probably read this passage?
A.Entertainment B.Health report
C.Public service D.Advertisement
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
France has everything you could possibly wish for in a holiday, and not including things like the Eiffel Tower, there are many other landmarks and tourist attractions to experience.
You can choose to book one of the inclusive holidays in France or plan your own trip and stay at one of the Paris hotels or B&Bs. In fact there are more hotels in Paris than any other city in France, as this is such a popular place for a short weekend break. But for a break with a difference, how about staying in one of the castles that have been changed into famous hotels in luxury?
On the other hand, if you enjoy taking a touring holiday, there are thousands of French campsites in France, where you can put up your own tent, but on many campsites for more convenience you could even live in a chalet(棚屋).
You can easily find campsites with excellent facilities that include swimming pools, shops clubs, bars, entertainment, playgrounds, etc. These are good for the whole family holiday and some even offer other activities such as tennis, fishing, swimming and more, which can make for an ideal self-help holiday at very little expense, yet please do not forget about your holiday insurance.
And, for those who love adventure holidays, you will not be disappointed with a lot of activities on offer in France, such as boating, rafting, horse riding, hiking, which mean holiday insurance is even more necessary.
So for your next holiday to France, why not start planning to see more of the real France, with all of its history, culture, landmarks and heritage.
1.What does the author want to tell in the passage?
A.France is a country full of the adventure.
B.France is a popular place for the tourists.
C.France is a good attraction for wine lovers.
D.France is a good place for people to live in.
2.If you decide on an inclusive holiday, .
A.you have a chance to visit a famous castle
B.you don't have to visit a place in a hurry
C.you don't have to worry about housing
D.you will surely save a lot of money
3.What is the advantage of choosing a campsite?
A.You can enjoy yourself best with less money.
B.You can experience different French culture.
C.You will enjoy the wonderful chalet.
D.You will be offered holiday insurance.
4.What will you do if you are an adventure lover?
A.It is better to stay with your family or friends.
B.It is important to choose easy activities.
C.It is necessary to buy holiday insurance.
D.It is necessary to visit landmarks or heritage first.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Rapid progress in artificial intelligence, also called AI, and the wide use of robots across different industries are causing the worry about the growth in joblessness. People have different opinions on this development, and they mainly have focused on what to do to make sure that robots don't steal jobs.
Bill Cates, for example, have called for taxing(对…征税)robots that take away jobs. This has led to disagreement from other leading figures, such as Larry Summers, who thinks that robots are job creators and that it is totally wrong. Another idea is to use a basic income for all-the ides that everyone receives the lowest income-to pay for influence of technological unemployment. This idea also causes disagreement.
However, jobs are not created or lost because of a single technology, but because of the business system designed to make use of the power of the technology.
We have seen a similar example in history, with recorded music in the last century. It wasn't the 1930s recording technology itself that affected the jobs of the live musicians. It was its connection with radio broadcasting，jukeboxes(自动唱机)and the way businesses operated that led to the job losses. Hotels, restaurants and bars replaced live musicians with jukeboxes. A single recording could be placed over and over without requiring the appearance of the musicians.
The early recording of music destroyed the jobs of some live musicians and made them earn less money than before. The social dissatisfaction was largely about monopoly power(垄断势力)and less about the technology itself.
Job creation or loss has to be considered with everything considered. This is the best explained by looking at the difference between recorded music in the last century and robots now.
1.What's people's main attention according to the first paragraph?
A.Artificial intelligence. B.The growing opportunities.
C.Not letting robots take away jobs. D.Stopping the wide use of robots.
2.What does the underlined word "it" in paragraph 2 refer to?
A.The idea of taxing robots. B.The belief that robots steal jobs.
C.Rapid progress in artificial intelligence. D.Disagreement between leading figures.
3.What can we know about Larry Summers?
A.He agrees with Bill Gates' opinion. B.He thinks robots can create jobs.
C.He supports the idea of taxing robots. D.He praises using a basic income for all
4.What can we infer from the last two paragraphs?
A.There will be more social dissatisfaction in the future.
B.Monopoly power is a terrible social phenomenon.
C.We should tell job creation or loss with full consideration.
D.Recorded music is completely different from robots.
难度: 困难查看答案及解析
Ice cream is certainly the world's favorite dessert. 1. Of all the people across the world, more ice cream is eaten in Australia than in any other country: 16.6 liters per person per year.
A form of ice cream was eaten in China about 4,000 years ago. 2. Sounds strange today.
Ice cream was brought to Europe in the 16th century, but at that time only the super-rich could afford it. When the Italian princess Catherine de Medici married the future King Henry Ⅱ of France in 1533, a different kind of ice cream was served every day a month! 3.
Ice cream was introduced to America in the 1700s, but mostly enjoyed by the wealthy. Around 1800, special ice houses were invented and ice cream became an American industry. 4. In 1946, they ate more than 20 liters of ice cream per person.
The world's most popular flavor is vanilla（香草）, which was produced from vanilla beans. 80% of the world's vanilla beans grew on the island of Madagascar, off the east coast of Africa. 5. And of all the days of the week, most ice cream is bought on Sunday!
A.Ice cream didn't become available to the ordinary people in France until 1660.
B.In Europe alone, about 11 billion dollars a year is spent on ice cream.
C.Americans celebrated the victory of World WarⅡwith ice cream.
D.California produces more ice cream than any other state.
E.More than 90 percent of the US families buy dessert.
F.It was made of milk rice, fruit and snow!
G.The most favorite topping is chocolate.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
I loved working with my dad, but I hated a summer job he gave me. He owned a small _________ in Bank Street. In his shop, the most recently _________ person got the worst job, and the boss son was also _________.
I didn't want to spend hours _________ the frost on the ceiling of the walk-in freezer（冷库）, and it was the Saturday afternoon's job that I hated most. We received fresh _________ every day. Chicken sat in wooden boxes and was _________ with crushed ice（碎冰）. During the week, the ice and the blood of the chicken slowly leaked into the container _________ the chicken, creating its bloody smell.
There was only one _________ to get rid of the blood and wash the container: hold my _________ and carefully slide the container from under the chicken, as I tried not to __________ the contents over my clothes, and then __________ into the drain（下水道）.
Soon, students who have cut lawns, painted houses, worked in offices, __________ maybe even worked in the butcher's like me will __________ to school. Some will have great memories __________ others will come back with __________ ones.
Looking back, I think my father could have __________ me from my weekly hell. However, my dad, who'd dropped out of school to help support his family after his father died, was a teacher for me __________ He knew treating me __________ from his other employees would be an unfair thing. Most importantly, he taught me to __________ those who do the hard and __________ tasks in life.
For the next six summers, I returned not as the boss' son, but as one of other guys, and I cleaned the dirty container every Saturday afternoon, whatever splashed over my clothes.
1.A.grocery B.chain C.butcher's D.book
2.A.invited B.hired C.received D.trained
3.A.interested B.offered C.affected D.included
4.A.cleaning up B.tearing up C.looking into D.carrying on
5.A.fruit B.vegetable C.chicken D.grain
6.A.impressed B.surrounded C.accompanied D.cooked
7.A.under B.beside C.below D.above
8.A.chance B.reason C.place D.way
9.A.arm B.nose C.head D.breath
10.A.splash B.notice C.find D.touch
11.A.break B.empty C.divide D.allow
12.A.and B.so C.or D.but
13.A.adapt B.return C.go D.apply
14.A.while B.when C.since D.because
15.A.exciting B.good C.amazing D.unpleasant
16.A.forced B.treated C.spared D.pushed
17.A.at school B.in advance C.in case D.in fact
18.A.kindly B.differently C.carefully D.warmly
19.A.appreciate B.witness C.hurt D.influence
20.A.vital B.easy C.dirty D.funny
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个恰当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
It was a sunny day, and I got a call. A man 1. (represent) the Sunergy Solar company called me to ask if I was interested in Solar Installation. I told the man I was but I couldn't afford it. However, two days later, a man came to my door, 2. was nice, experienced, and gave me all the information. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to pay for the solar panels（太阳能板）, so I kindly refused and 3. (explain) my story to him. I lived in a world where I couldn't afford 4. (pay) for electricity and I couldn't get it 5. free. Moving forward, I got a call again, and this time it was 6. owner of Sunergy Solar. As a company they wanted to help me by 7. (give) me a system for free. The owner said he wanted to pay it forward. I 8. (have) the panels now for a month and I couldn't be 9. (happy). Yes, get free electricity from the sun. But, I couldn't believe that generous, thoughtful people still exist in the world. I want to thank Sunergy Solar for their generosity. I 10. (true) couldn't stop crying, but this time from happiness.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处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。
One Sunday morning, I went for a walk along a quietly path. When I was sitting down for a rest, the black dog suddenly appeared. It ran up to myself and lay down at my feet. I touched its heads. When I decided to walking home, it still followed me. I called the nearest police station and told the police that I found a dog and I will keep it until its owner called for it. I gave the police with my name and address. Two days later, an old man came to my home, look for the dog. To express his thanks, he offered me ten dollars, and I did not take it. Then he invited me to visit him someday.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
假如你是李华，2018年中国首设“中国农民丰收节”。你的美国笔友John对此很感兴趣，写信向你询问，请你回复，内容包括：
1.日期：从2018年起每年秋分庆祝；
2.意义：体现丰收的喜悦和对传统24节气的尊重与传承；
3.活动：民俗表演，技能比赛，品尝美食和观光等。
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
参考词汇：秋分：autumn equinox 24节气：24 solar terms 民俗表演：folk culture performances
Dear John,
As for your last letter asking about the Chinese Farmers’ Harvest Festival,
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
难度: 中等查看答案及解析