Excerpts(节选) of Our Featured Stories
If you're looking for a midday pick-me-up or a little inspiration, you'll love our featured stories.
Thanks for the Flowers
“At the end of the day, a loving family should find everything forgivable. -----Mark V. Olsen
“You don't bring me flowers any more... You don’t sing me love songs...”, the singing of Neil Diamond went gently into my room from the radio. The song matched my mood on that cold January morning. How true, I thought the last time David brought me flowers was five years ago I dressed up against the cold and headed out for the challenging task of starting the old Ford. The beast normally refused to start. To start the vehicle, I tried all tricks. At that point, David. (more)
A Different Story
“There is no more lovely, friendly and charming relationship or company than a rood marriage.” --Martin Luther
“I just want what you and John Fraser have,” Margret Mead, my beautiful forty something single friend tells me. Immediately ashamed, I realize that I have heard the same thing from a single, searching, female cousin just recently. My husband, John and I met when we were thirty-four years old. We had occasional fights that make me laugh now, and... (more)
A Picky Eater
“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” ----Lao Tzu
Sterile, my husband would told me he was never a picky eater and was very easy to please when it came to food. Every time I cooked chicken liver, he always ate it and said he’d never tasted anything better. Until recently, I happened to know that he is actually allergic to chicken, and... (more)
1.What do the underlined words “the beast” in the first story refer to?
A.The song. B.The car.
C.The task. D.The mood.
2.What can we infer about Sterile in the third story?
A.He is particular about food. B.He is a heavy meat-eater.
C.He knows the truth of happiness. D.He suffers from a serious disease.
3.What are all the three stories about?
A.Dating tips. B.Parent-child relationship.
C.Family love. D.Entertainment news.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
The true Olympic spirit has been displayed by Canadian cross-country ski coach Justin Wadsworth, who helped Russian athlete Anton Gafarov with his broken ski during the Men’s Sprint Free Semifinals.
Gafarov’s start wasn't smooth. He fell three times, crashing early in the race and breaking his ski. It was clear that Gafarov was out of the race for the men's finals and wouldn't be able to compete for medals. Still, he wanted to finish in front of the home crowd. but his left ski was too badly damaged in the crash and its base had come off. The Russian skier faced finishing the race by walking to the line, not skiing.
However, the Russian's fall was seen by Canadian coach Justin Wadsworth, who immediately ran on to the course and helped Gafarov. “I went over and gave him one of Alex Harvey's, a member of the Canadian team who didn’t qualify for the finals. It was about giving Gafarov some dignity so he didn't have to walk to the finish area,” Wadsworth said. “We help because we know everyone works so hard in our sport,” says Wadsworth, who was an Olympic skier for the S before becoming a coach. “Everyone wants fair results. It was a matter of allowing Gafarov to finish the race.”
Gafarov was thoughtful about his performance. “My fall cost me a broken ski and a pole,” said Anton Gafarov, adding that he decided to continue fighting for the finals despite all the difficulties.
Gafarov believed the race should be finished in any way possible. “It was a matter of principle to hold on to the end,” he added. He is not devastated (毁灭) by his failure and is eager to take part in the next Winter Olympics despite back problems due to injuries.
1.What happened to Gafarov during the Men's Sprint Free Semifinals?
A.He dropped his ski in the unlucky crash.
B.He gave up the race after falling three times.
C.He lost the gold medal for the men's finals.
D.He had his ski broken in the early race.
2.What do we know about Wadsworth
A.He felt pity for Gafarov's bad luck in the race.
B.He knew what price Gafarov paid for the competition.
C.He was angry with his player' s not qualifying for the finals.
D.He once worked hard to become an Olympic skier for Canada.
3.According to the text, which statement may Gafarov agree to?
A.Every dog has its day. B.Rome isn't built overnight.
C.There is no end to learning. D.Never give up in face of difficulty.
4.What can be a suitable title for the text?
A.The Olympic Spirit. B.The Touching Moment.
C.The Meaning of Sports. D.The Winning Gold Medal.
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
Corn has been a significant part in American food since before European arrival. After the Civil War, grits (粗玉米粉), which is made out of corn, became a diet mainstay (支柱) because water-powered mills (磨坊) worked to grind dried corn. They were relatively inexpensive and could be eaten with almost anything, making it possible for everyone to enjoy.
Grits are usually cooked with water, cream and butter over the course of many hours. There can be varying types of grits from smooth to grainy. There are even instant grits for those without the hours to cook. Worth noting is that sugar is not typically added.
Grits can be served for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but they're commonly used as a base, usually topped with seafood and a delicious sauce. It's a dish eaten by everyone from sitting presidents to blue collar workers in a variety of ways, both in fine dining restaurants and oily spoons.
Shrimp and grits is the most well-known dish incorporating grits, especially in coastal areas like Charleston, South Carolina. It was originally a fisherman’s breakfast, a hearty meal before a long day of work, and today, it's found on menus throughout the nation.
Chefs have also become creative with the dish, adding modern elements to the traditional. Mashama Bailey has a foie gras (鹅肝酱) and grits dish at The Grey in Savannah, Georgia. Edward Lee has prepared it like the porridge his Korean parents cooked during his growing up, but uses Kentucky's Wiesenberger grits. Nathalie Dupree has made her career on the dish with her cookbook titled “Shrimp and Grits," while Virginia Willis has the appropriately titled “Grits”.
1.Why did grits become main food?
A.Because corm played a key role.
B.Because dried corn was extremely cheap.
C.Because the Civil War broke out.
D.Because water-powered mills turned up.
2.What can we learn about grits from Paragraph 3?
A.They are popular among all walks of life.
B.They are smooth to feel.
C.They are placed on top of other foods.
D.They are expensive to purchase.
3.What breakfast did South Carolina fishermen like?
A.Grits with shrimp. B.Grits with sugar.
C.Grits with butter. D.Grits with cream.
4.Why does the author mention Lee's parents?
A.To introduce Lee's upbringing experiences. B.To promote Lee's cooking techniques.
C.To explain a modern flavour of grits. D.To advertise a newly-published cookbook.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
You probably have a resume (个人简历) that you adjust from time to time, adding skills here or new titles there. It’s important to keep your resume updated to reflect your growing set of abilities and accomplishments. But it might come as a surprise to hear that The New York Times recommends writing a second resume. You list your failures, mistakes, and struggles along the way. By keeping track of your failures and reflecting on them in a way that’s constructive, you can learn from your mistakes and achieve more in the future.
Here’s how it works: In the format of your choice, make a list of your failures, whether it’s schools that rejected you, projects that failed, or goals you didn’t quite achieve. The key is not to dwell on these mistakes for hours, according to Melanie Stefan, a lecturer at Edinburgh Medical School who inspired several academics to create their own failure resumes a few years ago.
“If you dare and can afford to make it public, it will be six times as long as your normal resume. It will probably be totally discouraging at first sight,” Stefan wrote in an article that originally appeared in the journal Nature.
“But it will remind you of the missing truths, some of the essential parts of what it means to be a scientist and it might inspire a colleague to shake off a rejection and start again.”
Scientists aren’t the only ones who can benefit from reflecting on their mistakes. J.K. Rowling, for instance, is one of the many wildly successful people who has spoken publicly about her failures. And researchers at Columbia University announced last year that they planned to interview Nobel winners about their own failures in an attempt to better understand how personal and professional losses can promote learning.
1.What can be found in the failure resume?
A.Skills and new titles. B.Abilities and achievements.
C.Goals and academic results. D.Failures, mistakes and struggles.
2.What does the underlined phrase “dwell on” in Paragraph 2 mean?
A.Thoroughly forget. B.Always think about.
C.Completely avoid. D.Repeatedly correct.
3.Why did researchers at Columbia University plan to interview Nobel winners?
A.To make the “failure resume” public. B.To remind people of the missing truths.
C.To show how failures can improve learning. D.To inspire more people to start all over again.
4.What is Stefan’s attitude to the “failure resume”?
A.Doubtful. B.Approving.
C.Negative. D.Tolerant.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Time management is the process of planning and controlling how much time to spend on specific activities. The amount and quality of what you achieve are dependent on how effectively you manage your time.1..
Make a plan
There are many components that need to be drawn together to achieve success in a project. The best way to achieve success is to make a plan. This starts as a list of all the tasks that are either desirable or vital for accomplishing your goals.2. . Don’t just rely on your memory. It is not as good as you think it is.
3.
Take a long, hard look at your relationship with e-mail and social media. Although they are vital to everyday communication, they can claim much more attention than they deserve. Consider shutting them off completely as you work on a task that requires your full attention.
Learn to refuse4. . They put their efforts in the few areas that really matter and have the courage to say no to everything else. Those asking for your involvement would be more disappointed if you unwisely agreed to do something, but then failed to deliver. Be realistic with yourself, and honest with others.
Give yourself a break
Taking breaks is good for your brain. Don’t be hard on yourself. You will actually perform better if you take breaks. 5. .
A.Write them down.
B.Focus on what you do.
C.Break your plan into pieces.
D.Here is some advice on how to better manage your time.
E.Ways of dealing with difficult problems can come from a refreshed brain.
F.Failing to manage your time damages your effectiveness and causes stress.
G.Many business leaders put a lot of their success down to simply saying “no”.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
The moment when a mother sees her newborn baby for the first time is a joyous. special occasion.________ , sometimes there are cases where that special moment is followed by_________and pain. As a volunteer for Operation Smile. I have experienced the joy and the _________ that comes with this type of work.
Whanda’s story is one that _________with this kind of doubt and fear. After almost 30 hours of labor, 28-year-old Whanda passed out while giving birth to her first and only daughter, Yuleyssy. When she_________ Whanda took one look at her husband's face and knew that something was ________ .
The couple left the hospital_________ and confused, but certain that they would love and care for this baby no matter what happened. “I saw the people ________ at my baby. I knew then that I needed to love her enough_________ no one else would love her other than me and my _________ .
Many mothers of children born with cleft lip (兔唇) _________ the same fear and uncertainty as Whanda every day. Every three minutes, a child _________ in the world is born with a cleft. But thanks to the_________ of Operation Smile medical volunteers, there are thousands of children who receive the _________of a smile every year. Operation Smile works in more than 60 countries to__________ free, safe reconstructive surgery for children and young adults born with cleft lip. It is able to _________ waiting children who have otherwise lost _______ .
Thanks in part to Operation Smile, Yuleyssy’s story has a happy__________. When little Yuleyssy was _______
into her mother's arms in the recovery room, Whanda recalls her tears of_________ . “It was happy crying. She was beautiful.”
1.A.Anyhow B.However C.Therefore D.Besides
2.A.uncertainty B.friction C.caution D.departure
3.A.anger B.shame C.heartbreak D.embarrassment
4.A.sticks B.begins C.agrees D.lives
5.A.held on B.stood out C.pulled over D.came to
6.A.pitiful B.amusing C.wrong D.hopeful
7.A.bored B.satisfied C.delightful D.scared
8.A.stare B.guess C.rush D.tear
9.A.unless B.because C.until D.as if
10.A.nature B.heart C.care D.husband
11.A.overcome B.change C.experience D.confirm
12.A.somewhere B.also C.even D.still
13.A.studies B.efforts C.profits D.remarks
14.A.award B.praise C.invitation D.gift
15.A.collect B.distribute C.provide D.accumulate
16.A.cure B.avoid C.comfort D.encourage
17.A.face B.respect C.weight D.hope
18.A.hour B.ending C.future D.chance
19.A.thrown B.turned C.placed D.folded
20.A.joy B.love C.kindness D.peace
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
Chinese net users have found a new way to battle desertification by playing virtual (虚拟的) planting games. Ant Forest, 1. is under Ant Financial of the Alibaba Group, told the Global Times that they had planted over 50 million trees covering about 507 square kilometers across China from 2016 to 2019.
Ant Forest is the first such game in China. In the Ant Forest plan, any activity 2.(consider) low carbon, including walking, taking public transport and online payments, will be converted into virtual “green energy”. The energy will be used to grow a virtual tree in the “forest” of the 3.(user). They exchange 4.for a real tree by paying the corresponding energy. Ant Forest will plant the real trees in spring and autumn each year 5.the help of local authorities in the desert areas. This way of planting trees6. (recognize) on October 23, 2018 by the National Afforestation Committee as7.means for citizens to fulfill their obligation of planting trees.
The Chinese government attaches great8. (important)to the protection of ecosystems. China aims 9.(increase)the forest cover to 23 percent by 2020, and to 26 percent by 2035. A new study using data from NASA satellite shows that the Earth becomes10.(green) as a result of ambitious tree-planting programs in China.
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互相修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有十处语言错误，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：在错的词下面划一横线，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1词
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Gardening is an activity where you have to get your hands dirtily. I try my luck with a spade several times, added a few more plant variety to my garden each year. I know how to do this because of my grandfather, that loved gardening and took the great pride in those peas and carrots grown in his backyard. The entire backyard was devoted his plants. I now had a house and a garden of his own. Last summer my tomato plants gave us a dozen grape-sized tomatoes I often think back to my grandfather garden. He passed away years ago, but I have ever forgotten to allow the new roots to grow in my garden.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
你受学生会委托写一则通知，请大家参加“英文读书报告会（English Readers’ Seminar）”活动，内容包括：
1. 举办的目的、时间和地点；
2. 推荐一本读过的好书：
3. 谈谈推荐的理由。
注意：
1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Notice
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难度: 中等查看答案及解析