The act of social distancing has become an effective protective measure against the novel coronavirus and a part of everyday life across the world. Many countries have launched different social distancing measures. Some are strict while others are creative. Let’s take a look at three special quarantine (隔离) measures around the world.
Panama
With more than 3,000 confirmed cases by April 12, Panama has announced strict quarantine measures. One of them is to separate people by gender to go out.
Starting in April, males in the country are required to leave home on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday while females can go out on Monday, Wednesday and Friday every week. No one is allowed to go out on Sundays. To further prevent the spread of COVID-19, citizens are able to leave their homes for only two hours at a time. But according to the Guardian, the restriction measures do not apply to civil servants or her important staff who are battling against the novel coronavirus on the frontline.
Colombia
ID numbers are unique identification tools for individuals, but they may also be used to decide when people can go out in Colombia during the novel coronavirus epidemic. According to the BBC, people in some Colombian towns are allowed to be outside based on the last digit (数字) of their national ID number. For example, in northwest-central Colombia, Barrancabermeja, people with an ID number ending in zero, four or seven are allowed to leave the house on Monday, while those with an ID number ending in one, five or eight can go outside on Tuesday.
France
Though outdoor exercise is a good way to keep healthy, it can sometimes cause too many people to gather in one place. In order to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Paris has forbidden all outdoor exercise between 10 am and 7 pm. Outside of this time span, people are allowed to exercise individually as long as it’s for less than an hour and within one kilometer of their home. If people break the rule, they will face fines of between €135 ( about 1,040 yuan) and €375.
1.What can we learn about Panama’s social distancing measures?
A.All citizens should follow the rules of going out by gender.
B.Ordinary citizens can stay outside for at most two hours at a time.
C.Civil servants are allowed to go out every day except on Sundays.
D.None can go out for dinner, starting in April.
2.Which group is allowed to go out on Tuesdays in Barrancabermeja, during the epidemic?
A.Females.
B.Males.
C.Those with an ID number ending in one, five or eight.
D.Those with an ID number ending in zero, four or seven.
3.Which of the following follows the rules in France?
A.Cycling around one’s home at 6 pm. B.Playing badminton in front of one’s house at noon.
C.Playing basketball with friends at 9 pm. D.Jogging alone near one’s home from 8 am to 8:30 am.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Picture a young Chinese woman in a field, dressed in traditional hemp (麻布) clothing, as she picks flowers to create makeup for her cheeks. Imagine the same person making a bamboo sofa, cooking soy sauce and cooking up all sorts of delicious dishes.
It may sound hard to believe, but such a person exists in modern China, and her name is Li Ziqi. On Dec 14, she won Person of the Year in the category of cultural influence awarded by China Newsweek.
With a fan base of more than 21 million people on Sina Weibo and 7 million flowers on video-sharing site YouTube, Li has made a name for herself in a series of videos that show off a pre-industrial Chinese way of life in rural Sichuan province. “I want to do my part to let more people know about Chinese culture,” the bogger told China.org.cn. “Much of the popularity of my videos owes to the attraction of Chinese culture.”
Li sems to be a master of all kinds of sills—cooking, painting, designing and farming. She raises silkworms to sew a quilt for her grandmother and grows plants. Many videos show her picking seasonal ingredients from her own garden and cooking them up with her wood-fired work. A warm bowl of soup for the winter, a lighter plate of noodles for the summer, Li follows the seasons in her cooking, as China’s traditional 24 solar terms also do, and makes food suitable for the particular climate.
“She told the stories of China’s culture and that of China.” the official Sina Weibo account of China Central Television noted. The success of Li Ziqi also comes from her “passion for life, for her home and for her culture”. Indeed, Li’s simple pleasures amaze people living in the hustle and bustle of big cities. “She leads a life that many dream of, but don’t dare to give up their current life in exchange for,” iFeng.com wrote. Her handmade lifestyle is a fantasy for many. “In today’s society, many feel stressed,” she told the South China Morning Post. “When they watch my videos at the end of a busy day, I want them to relax and experience something nice, to take away some of their anxiety and stress.”
1.Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A.Li Ziqi enjoys 7 million followers on Twitter.
B.Li Ziqi won Person of the Year awarded by Chinese government.
C.Li makes suitable food to follow the changes of climate.
D.Li’s video can’t bring pleasures to people in big cities.
2.What makes Li’s video so successful at home and abroad?
A.Her love for Chinese culture B.Her confidence for Chinese culture
C.The attraction of her videos D.Her excellent ability of making handicrafts
3.What does the underlined words “hustle and bustle” in Paragraph 5 mean?
A.noisy and stressful life B.busy but relaxing life
C.fantastic and enjoyable life D.quiet and comfortable life
4.What’s the main purpose of making videos according to Li Ziqi?
A.To promote the sales of Chinese food and handicrafts.
B.To attract more of fans to visit her Sina Weibo.
C.To make herself known to the public.
D.To free the stressed people from the anxiety and stress
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Have you got an addictive nature? Are you unable to stop yourself joining in your favorite computer games? This probably describes most of us because its only human nature to not want to miss out on something that everyone else is talking about.
Most crazes arrive suddenly and enthusiasm for them spreads quickly. They become a talking point on social media; we read about them, give them a try and, before we know it, we are hooked (钩住). In the past, these have been objects such as toys and games. Maybe you were the proud owner of a Rubik’s cube, which became the best-selling toy of all time-around 350 million have been sold so far.
Now, technology is driving the latest crazes. Games such as Angry Birds and Minecraft are crazes available on smartphones and computers that have been hard to put down.
Our addiction to crazes has been analyzed by scientists. One of them, Dr Ben Michaels, a clinical psychologist, explains that we want to experience the benefit that another person, or group of people, have experienced from something and this “hooks into an ancient evolutionary (进化的) fear of being left behind or abandoned by our tribes”; we have to join in or lose out.
Although becoming addicted to a computer game might not seem like a ‘benefit’, it can at least give you popularity among your friends. It allows you to learn new skills and gives you something to talk about at parties!
But fashions come and go and most crazes are just a flash in the pan so if one of them is not your cup of tea, don’t worry: there’ll be a new craze arriving very soon. Look at the addiction to loom bands (橡皮筋) - those little bands you could make jewellery and other things out of. For a brief period they were the must-have item for any schoolchild, now they’re the bargain bucket item in a discount shop or worse still, trash filling up our landfill sites! What crazes have you been addicted to?
1.What can we learn from the passage?
A.A lot of people usually talk about the latest crazes on the Internet.
B.The toy “Rubik’s Cube” was not very popular when it was launched.
C.The majority of crazes usually last for a long time.
D.Loom bands are always thrown away in some discount shop.
2.Why are we so addictive to crazes according to Dr. Ben?
A.We just want to benefit from what others have experienced.
B.We have the evolutionary fear of being left behind or missing out by our groups.
C.Some crazes are so attractive that we can’t refuse them.
D.Crazes can bring us so many benefits.
3.Which of the following is NOT the benefit of being addicted to a particular craze?
A.Getting popularity among your friends
B.Learning new skills
C.Having something to talk about at parties
D.Improving communication ability
4.What is possibly the best title of the text?
A.The Addiction to Computer Games
B.The Fear of Missing out
C.The Benefits of Crazes
D.Nature of Humans
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Compared to other causes of natural disasters, volcanoes offer clues only when they are about to erupt. Now, however, developments in monitoring systems have allowed scientists to develop sensors to detect and forecast eruptions more accurately.
University of Cambridge volcanologist Marie Edmonds says that scientists are now able to use very accurate sensors to monitor the gases volcanoes give out, which can give clues on the location of the magma. The sensors help with prediction because different gases are released at different stages of an eruption. When magma rises, pressure is released along with gases. Carbon dioxide is released early on and then, as the magma goes higher, Sulphur dioxide is released. The ratio of the two gases is used to detect the location of magma relative to the surface, telling researchers the coming of the eruption.
Edmonds is connected to an international group known as the Deep Carbon Observatory that has worked to put new gas sensors on fifteen of the most active and dangerous volcanoes to improve the forecasting of various types of eruptions. The gas sensors continually measure water vapor, sulphur dioxide, and carbon dioxide. They are placed inside large boxes with surface antennae and buried underground. Advances in electronics have increased their accuracy and lowered their cost, allowing more of them to be used worldwide.
Putting these sensors atop active volcanoes is dangerous. Scientists wear reflective suits that protect against heat, plus gas masks for protection from dangerous gases. They sometimes hike long distances in remote areas to reach a site. However, according to Edmonds, the work they do to save people’s lives makes a dangerous job worth it. She enjoys doing something that helps people.
Edmonds’ team has also attached sensors to a certain plane to measure gases released from a Papua New Guinea volcano for a short time, a technique developed to gather “snapshots” of the activity. These snapshots help researchers to better understand activities that lead to eruptions.
1.How do sensors detect and predict volcanic eruptions?
A.By sending warnings to researchers. B.By testing different gases released.
C.By measuring the heat underground. D.By studying the surrounding gases.
2.What do we know about the gas sensors?
A.They should be attached to the magma. B.They are available around the world.
C.They become more accurate and expensive. D.They can check various types of eruptions.
3.Why is it risky to place sensors atop active volcanoes?
A.Active volcanoes may erupt at any time. B.It’s hard to find the top of volcanoes.
C.Scientists are short of enough suits and masks. D.There is heat and dangerous gases
4.What can the snapshots do?
A.Predict volcanic eruptions earlier. B.Attract people’s attention to volcanoes.
C.Collect more information for researchers D.Avoid the danger of the researchers’ work.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Five safe search engines for kids
With school back in session, the Internet can be a great resource for homework, but you might be worried about your child surfing inappropriate (不合适的) websites. 1.. Therefore, your child can have the freedom to look through the Internet while you have peace of mind that he is staying safe online.
Kiddle
It is a safe, visual search engine for kid powered by Google. The first three results to each question are kid-safe sites and pages written specifically for children and hand-picked by the editors at Kiddle.
Kido’z
It is a password-protected browser (浏览器) that can be downloaded and installed for free. 2.. And it can block your child from any inappropriate information while offering a variety of kid-safe sites, games, videos, and other enjoyable choices.
Kid Info
3.. The site is organized by subjects for different grades, so your kid can find age-appropriate helpers and skill-builders. In addition to subject help, Kid Info also links to other helpful resources, and the links are checked weekly to remove any broken or inappropriate information.
KindClick!
It was created by librarians and is owned and run by the School of Liberty. This site focuses on a series of resources that provide age-appropriate information on different topics, so kids can look through by topic or use a search engine to get into the site. 4.. There are also helpful resources for kid facing toughing issues like being attacked or the death of a family member.
5.
It is a search engine limited to scholarly works, and can help your child gain reliable information and resources. Google Scholar contains no inappropriate information, but most of the resources available might be .too difficult for younger kids to understand.
A.Google Scholar
B.KidsSearch
C.When opened, Kido’z takes over the entire screen
D.It will not list sites that collect private information
E.It was started by a teacher as a resource to help kids with homework
F.Its topics include almost everything from homework helpers to classic games.
G.These safe search engines for kids offer age-appropriate sites and web pages
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Hand Sewing (缝纫) is a culture that dances on fingertips. It has passed down from generation to generation and _______ various challenges (困难,挑战). It is the fruits of human wisdom.
In China, sewing is also _______ as a basic skill for women in traditional society. They sewed for their parents, husbands and children, due to which I always thought that sewing was particularly warm and _______.
My grandma is a gentle old lady. Like’ many women of her time, she has a(n) _______ for sewing. She made all my childhood clothes with her _______ hands.
As a baby girl, rather than playing outside with my mates, I _______ to stay with my grandma to help her sew.
Later, instead of making clothes, my grandmother would sew gloves or insoles for me. She cannot stay with me all the time, but she cared about me and _______ making these things for me. The painstaking love _______ me a lot.
It was grandma who inspired my love for sewing and taught me how to _______ love and care. Almost a year ago, I was ________ to find a birthday present for my friend, then I thought ________ don’t I sew her a gift?
I ________ up my mind to make her a pencil case. Making use of my old denim skirt, I cut out the pattern (图案), drew a ________ and then ________ myself in sewing. It ________ me about two hours to finish it There is no ________ that it was the most durable (耐用的) and ________ pencil case I could make. I sent it to my friend and wished her a happy birthday.
I could never have ________ how powerful the gift is. Just yesterday, she called me and said ________ every time she sees the pencil case, she thinks of me and gets a warm feeling. Sewing is a fantastic ________ form, which can really convey our love and care.
1.A.created B.faced C.survived D.controlled
2.A.voted B.viewed C.determined D.selected
3.A.logic B.magic C.strange D.moving
4.A.gift B.interest C.request D.advantage
5.A.skillful B.rough C.powerful D.reliable
6.A.decided B.preferred C.deserved D.directed
7.A.insisted on B.turned to C.gave in D.set out
8.A.shocked B.upset C.rewarded D.warmed
9.A.escape B.release C.express D.remove
10.A.searching B.struggling C.concerning D.suffering
11.A.why B.how C.when D.where
12.A.showed B.chatted C.cut D.made
13.A.case B.dress C.pencil D.design
14.A.devoted B.educated C.buried D.trapped
15.A.cost B.took C.spent D.paid
16.A.wonder B.surprise C.possibility D.doubt
17.A.useful B.loving C.selfless D.regular
18.A.burst B.showed C.imagined D.proved
19.A.which B.what C.when D.that
20.A.art B.cultural C.worth D.style
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
请按以下规则改正下列句子中的错误，每句只有一处错误。
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：把多余的词作斜线（＼）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：每处错误及 其修改均仅限一词；
1.Why did Jim say that he can’t have simple pleasure for a while?
2.I like my music teacher for which I have great respect.
3.He can’t take the charge of the computer company because it is beyond his ability.
4.More attention should be paid to improve the quality of these products.
5.The request to buy a video for each classroom is considered at the meeting now.
6.Before the race really started, the cyclist Armstrong, as well as his teammates, were waiting at the starting line.
7.Happiness and success often come to those who are good at recognizing their own strength.
8.With many problems arise, he didn’t know how to deal with them.
9.I suggested he worked out a new plan but he didn’t respond to it.
10.He is such warm-hearted a man that he often helps others.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
假如你是中学生李华，你的外教John想推荐你去参加一次以野生动物保护为主题的英语演讲比赛，但是最近你母亲生病了，需要你照顾，所以你不得不谢绝。但是你向他推荐了你的好朋友张明参加。请根据以下要点给John写一封信，说明情况：
1.谢绝John的推荐；2.说明你的原因；3.推荐张明参加并说明理由。
注意：
1.词数100左右（信的开头和结尾已经给出，不计入总词数）：
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
参考词汇：推荐recommend v.
Dear John,
Thank you very much for your recommendation.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Best wishes.
Yours,
Li Hua
难度: 中等查看答案及解析