Must-read Books That Are Hitting the Big Screen This Year
The Zookeeper’s Wife by Diane Ackerman
Starring: Jessica Chastain and Johan Heldenbergh
Release Date: July 31, 2017
This true story is both heartbreaking and heartwarming. Ackerman artfully retells the story of Jan and Zabinski and haw they used their zoo to save over three hundred people from the Nazis. After their zoo was bombed, they managed to hide people in animal cages, giving animal names to their guests and human names to their animals. This is one story we truly hope lives up to the hype on film.
The Lost City of Z by David Grann
Starring: Sienna Miller and Robert Pattinson
Release Date: August 14,2017
Looking for adventure? This story is just what you need. The book (and film) tells the tale of British explorer Percy Fawcett and how he ventured into the Amazon jungle in 1925,never to return. It's an enchanting mystery that we can’t wait to see play out on screen.
The Dinner by Herman Koch
Starring: Richard Gere and Rebecca Hall
Release Date: October 5,2017
We always say we'd do absolutely anything for our kids, right? The story begins with two couples politely, eating dinner together, avoiding a conversation about their children who have committed a horrific act. As the story goes on, you'll see just how far these parents will go to protect the ones they love.
The Circle by Dave Eggers
Starring: Emma Watson and Patton Oswalt
Release Date: November 28,2017
A young woman, Mae, is hired to work for a powerful Internet company and Feels like she's hit the job jackpot. The facility is very advanced, lively, and a bit wild. Mae's story begins as one of ambition but soon turns into a heart-racing story of suspense.
1.Why did Jan and Zabinski put people in animal cages?
A. To offer them living places B. To treat them as animals
C. To avoid being bombed D. To hide from the Nazis
2.Who plays the role of a modern white-collar woman?
A. Emma Watson. B. Rebecca Hall.
C. Sienna Miller. D. Jessica Chastain.
3.When can you go to see the film if you enjoy adventure stories?
A. In July. B. In August
C. In October. D. In November.
4.Which of the following is related to parents' raising kids?
A. The Zookeeper's Wife. B. The Lost City of Z.
C. The Dinner. D. The Circle.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
I went to the cinema this afternoon to see La La Land. Before going into the screening my sister and I visited the ladies’ washroom. As we entered, a little blonde haired girl about 5 years of age opened one of the cubicle(小隔间)doors and ran out of the washroom, hot pants in hand and looking upset and overwhelmed.
I went after her. Her dad was standing outside. She quickly gave him the hot pants to dress her. Little sweetheart. She obviously couldn't manage to button up her hot pants. Even though she had her little white tights on, she must have felt embarrassed about the lack of hot pants.
I tried to calm and reassure her, saying, “When I saw dad standing outside I knew he was waiting for someone very pretty, but I just hadn't realized how, pretty she was going to be.” She didn't bite; dad smiled though. I offered to bring her back to wash her hands.
She was too tiny to squeeze soap out of the dispenser, so I helped her. I could see poor dad out of the side of my eyes .He was right at the door looking in. I went with her to the hand dryer, but she was so tiny that the sensor couldn't even detect her little hands. I lifted her up and her hands were properly dried, well at least a little.
I was moved by this little girl’s helplessness in an adult world. I also felt for dad having to trust that his little girl would feel safe and secure for the few minutes out of his sight.
I reached out for help. I tried to bridge the gap when a little helpless girl was a few minutes without a trusted adult and a concerned father had to for a moment accept he could not give her the security he wanted for her. It wasn't much but it helped a caring father and his little daughter and for that, I'm grateful.
1.Why did the little girl catch the author's attention?
A. She got frightened by strangers.
B. She needed clothing to cover her.
C. She was probably lost in the crowd.
D. She was in an embarrassing situation.
2.Why did the hand dryer fail to work for the little girl?
A. The size of the sensor was too small.
B. She was not tall enough to reach it.
C. She didn’t know how to operate it.
D. It was drying the author's hands.
3.How did the father feel in the story?
A. Helpless. B. Shy.
C. Shameful. D. Calm
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
If you believe in thermometers（温度计）,you should believe in global warming. And if you believe in eating fries with your burger, you should worry more about carbon emissions.
It won't happen overnight, but as the planet's climate changes, the growth cycles of main crops will all be heavily affected .Here are three of the crops that might not beat the heat.
The potato actually needs a great deal of beauty rest to develop properly. “They need a cool nighttime temperature in order to start growing the tuber, the part that we eat,” Nelson says.
Temperature and altitude are two primary concerns in coffee growth, and farmers are stuck between a rock and a hard place. “We know that coffee grows in a certain temperature range,” Nelson says. “They've been moving up the mountains, but at some paint you run out of mountains to move up.” Higher-grade strains of Arabica coffee in Central American regions are at particular risk due to the need for lower growing temperature, especially since diseases and pests are also becoming more of a factor as temperatures rise.
Even if you're looking at the direct effects of temperature alone, rice is in trouble. “As nighttime temperatures go up ,the rice is going to have a problem flowering and won't make as many seeds,” Nelson says. In addition to this direct heat consequence, rising sea levels will flood many rice fields and destroy water salinity levels, while droughts will lower production, raise prices, and further shame westerners who are too clumsy with chopsticks to be able to clear their plates once a new grain is adopted.
1.What is the closest meaning to the underlined word “emissions” in Paragraph 1?
A. Mixture. B. Pollution.
C. Going down. D. Letting off.
2.What does the potatoes' development need according to Nelson?
A. Enough water and salt. B. Cool temperature at night.
C. Much sunshine and fresh air. D. Sudden rise of the temperature.
3.The rice is difficult to flower, probably because______.
A. sea levels go up suddenly B. the temperature rises at night
C. many seeds can't be produced D. both temperature and altitude rise
4.What is the best title for the text?
A. How Does Global Warming Affect Westerners
B. How Does The Cool Temperature Affect Ride
C. What Is The Real Reason For Crops' Growth
D. Three Crops That Won't Survive Minor Climate Changes
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Before you walked down the aisle—if you even did---did you first agree to take your partner’s name? had you agreed to the bank for updated credit cards, changed your email address, and updated your Facebook?
I didn't; and I know plenty of women out there didn't, either. So I was pretty shocked to learn that in a recent survey, over 50 percent of U.S. citizens believe a wife should take her husband's name—and she should be required to do so by law.
Author Emily Schafer, a sociology professor at Portland State University, surveyed a representative national sample of 1,200 people tar the study, which found that a larger number of American adults think there needs to actually be a law in place to prevent women from keeping their own name.
The most common reason given? The general belief is that women should prioritize（优先）their marriage and their family ahead of themselves. To this, I admit I'm a bit confused, because I don't understand how exactly riot taking your husband’s last name means you aren't prioritizing your marriage.
Now, I didn't take my husband's name for a variety of reasons: I didn’t feel like the name was "mine" and professionally I had built up a reputation as a writer under my maiden（未婚的）name, so I didn't want to lose that. His surname wasn't easy to spell, either; everyone gets it wrong (including my mother—still—and we've been married 13 years).But most of all, I felt like in taking my husband's last name, I was losing a huge sense of self. And while yes, we are a family, I don't want his surname to define me. I'm not his possession.
Just like every aspect of motherhood, each woman should be respected for the choices she makes—without having to do anything by law. And we should all be grateful to Lucy Stone—the first American woman to legally maintain her last name after marriage in 1856.Just imagine how difficult that must have been to forego tradition in that time?
1.What can be learned about the tradition of taking a husband's name from the survey?
A. A law should be there to break the tradition.
B. The majority of American adults support the tradition.
C. The majority of American women go against the tradition.
D. The law requires wives to take their husbands' names in America.
2.Why does an American woman generally take her husband's name?
A. To value her marriage and family.
B. To show honesty to her husband.
C. To join in the family of her husband.
D. To unite a new family under the same name.
3.What does Paragraph 5 mainly talk about?
A. Why the author didn't use her husband's name.
B. Why the author's mother didn't like her husband.
C. How worthy the author's own maiden name was.
D. How bored the author became with her husband's name.
4.What does the author think of the tradition?
A. It's reasonable B. It isn’t worth caring
C. Every coin has two sides D. It's out of date and confusing.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Four Questions to Ask Before Choosing a Travel Agent
While online booking engines have made it easier for travelers to buy their own flights or hotel rooms, travel agents still offer a level of service.1.
Have you visited my destinations?
Whether you’re traveling to Paris or Puerto Rico, ask if your agent has been there.2.But they don’t always measure up to being there in person. “Book knowledge or online training seminars by suppliers is totally different from experiencing it firsthand,” Flagg says.
What is your response time?
If waiting several days for a response to an emailed question is going to make you anxious, ask potential agents when they’re available and how quickly you should expect a response. “Some agents are part-time agents, and they work in the evenings,” Griswold says. “3.Others do this full time. It’s definitely smart to find out if your schedule can adjust with what your agent can provide.”
4.
Agents provide varying levels of service. Some will only book hotels and flights and leave you to fill in the other details, so if you’re expecting help with dinner reservations or ground transportation, ask if he can handle those. “A good agent is going to help you with any details that you want,” Griswold says.
What fees should I expect?
Some agents charge a flat fee or an hourly fee for travel consulting, while others earn commission from the airline or hotel booked. “ 5.”Griswold says.
A. What services do you offer?
B. How do you find a right service?
C. Some are available during the school day
D. Guidebooks and websites offer lots of advertisements
E. Ask about fees, whether there are booking fees or any other fee.
F. Guidebooks and websites offer lots of details on given destination
G. Here are some questions that can help you choose the right travel agent.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Ann stepped outside her front door to see1.the weather was like. It was still cold and2. (rain). It had been so cold that she had had to turn her heater on. She was lucky because her heart worked and she could pay her 3.(heat)bills.
Some people in Los Angeles weren’t so lucky.4.(able)to use their home heater, the placed charcoal into a barbecue grill and lit it. The heat kept them warm, but the carbon monoxide killed them.
This happens almost every winter in Los Angeles. People shut all the windows tight5.(keep)the cold out, then light the charcoal. Soon enough, the oxygen in their home 6.(consume)by the open flames. The family choke to death. Everyone knows smoke detectors(检测器)are required in Los Angeles. 7.many people don’t know about, or don’t think they need carbon monoxide detectors. They’re not expensive. A $25 investment can save a family from death.
People always think that nothing bad will happen to them; it always happens to “8.other guy”. So they forget to put several fresh 9.(battery) into their smoke detectors10.(annual), and they don’t bother to buy carbon monoxide detectors.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
I just had two lovely conversations with my long-term friends. First, I was pleased to have an_______meeting with Bryan. He’s CEO of a government agency and one of the first people I _____when I moved to Medicine Hat. I_______to work that morning eighteen years ago and he quickly began introducing me to other employees. His_______was appreciated and we began a close friendship right then as he gave me a comfortable______in my new workplace. Over the next few years Bryan would______me at the office. There were many times when we ______together. We didn’t see each other very_______after I moved on with other career paths. Late this afternoon, we unexpectedly met at a store and stood in the cold beside our________in the parking lot for an hour. We ______memories and inspired each other with tales of our experiences.
One day I saw the light on my phone flashing and then saw the _____message left for me by another_______Chris, who has been in my life since 1973. He’s returned to retire and ______in his hometown of Whitewood, where we first met. _______not having lived in the same town or city since then, we’ve held each other in our ______for the past four decades. Even when we’re all______and don’t make contact with each other for months, it always feels like time hasn’t passed since our last______. We understand and care about each other and that’s all that______ .
Most dictionaries________a friend is someone you “know, like and trust”. I’m grateful that many of my friendships go well _______that.
1.A. unfair B. unlucky C. unplanned D. unpleasant
2.A. met B. hated C. taught D. hurt
3.A. forgot B. refused C. wanted D. reported
4.A. experience B. kindness C. courage D. praise
5.A. end B. bed C. past D. start
6.A. visit B. notice C. attract D. punish
7.A. cried B. sang C. laughed D. danced
8.A. secretly B. rarely C. nervously D. frequently
9.A. taxis B. cars C. buses D. houses
10.A. stored B. cleared C. shared D. lost
11.A. sweet B. anxious C. terrible D. ordinary
12.A. leader B. friend C. brother D. employee
13.A. hid B. worked C. died D. lived
14.A. If B. When C. Though D. Because
15.A. rooms B. hearts C. offices D. families
16.A. busy B. patient C. regretful D. tired
17.A. practice B. success C. talk D. show
18.A. lies B. works C. differs D. matters
19.A. require B. state C. contain D. know
20.A. beyond B. against C. beneath D. without
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。
Sometimes there’s no so much work for you to deal with and you felt it’s beyond your ability to finish them. Actually, you can take measure to help yourself out. Firstly, list all the tasks which must be done and decide which one requires immediately attention. Secondly, divide the work into separate from parts so it’ll be easier for you to see whether each part is being accomplished as desiring. Besides, assign a little extra time for each task, such that the work will be carried out systematically. Finally, you’ll find sense of accomplishment will replace the anxious you felt at first.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
假如你是李华，近日目睹了一次严重的交通事故：一名小男孩因闯红灯被车撞受伤。此事引发了你对交通安全的思考。请根据以下要点给校英语报社投稿。
1.存在的问题；
2.造成的后果；
3.提出建议。
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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难度: 中等查看答案及解析