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WHICH FAMOUS PERSON IN HISTORY WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE MET AND WHY?
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For me it would clcarly be Leonardo da Vinci, I’d love to have met him. He was such a creative talent and not just an artist. He seems to have predicted a number of inventions that only came about hundreds of years later, like flying machines and so on. I’s like to tell him he really did see the future. Naomi, Chicago |
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I’d choose Cleopatra—the last king of ancient Egypt(埃及). She is thought to have been very beautiful and is generally considered to have developed some really useful political alliances (政治同盟). Not many women were that powerful in ancient times, I’d like to have seen how she did it. Lucinda, Nairobi |
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I’m Latin American, so I would name Simon Bolivar as the person I would like to have known. He’s supposed to have been a very great, brave leader'and is accepted to have helped achieve independence for several countries in Latin America in the nineteenth century. Patricia, Caracas |
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I studied philosophy(哲学) , so I would like to have spoken face-to-face with the Chinese philosopher donfucius. I’d like to have discussed with him his political philosophy and his idea about family values. He seems to have had a lot of respect for older people, and even though he lived over two thousand years’ ago, some of his opinions are still meaningful. Li Yun, Shanghai |
1.Whose ideas about inventions have come true?
A. Leonardo da Vinci’s. B. Cleopatra’s. C. Simon Bolivar’s. D. Confucius’.
2.Which of the following is TRUE from the passage?
A. Leonardo da Vinci invented a flying machine hundreds of years ago.
B. Lucinda would like to have met Cleopatra because she was pretty.
C. Simon Bolivar was a person who encouraged independence of women.
D. Li Yun would like to have talked with Confucius about his family values.
3.In which part of a magazine can we read the passage?
A. Art. B. Movie C. History. D. Technology.
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My parents run a small store in San Francisco, They always keep a big box by the entrance where people can donate(捐赠) something to our local food bank.
“For some reason, our food-donation box just isn’t filling up recently,” said my dad.
“Maybe it’s time to think of a way to remind people about the food bank,” said my mom.
“What about a talent show?”rny dad suggested.
“OK,______” said my mom.
So while my parents posted information online, we kids made some signs. My friend Mareya came over to help out.
“I’d like to do an act in the show, but I don’t know what to do,” I told Mareya.
“Well , since the food-bank thing is about sharing,” said Mareya, “why not write a song about that?”
“Writing a song is not a problem,” I said. “But it’s hard for me to sing it alone!”
She said. “What if we sang it together?”
Since Mareya has the world’s prettiest voice and also happens to play the guitar, I agreed.
Mareya and I practiced and practiced, and I was feeling pretty good about our act. But the morning of the performance, Mareya called that she had a stomachache and was not in any shape to perform.
“There’s no way I’m going on without you,” I told her.
“You’ve worked so hard,” she said. “You’ll be great!”
But great is the last word anyone would choose to describe my performance! Without Mareya’s guitar and voice to guide me, my song was completely in a mess. And I even forgot half the words.
Remember the sick, heart-racing, hot-faced feeling I was talking about? Well, that’s what I was experiencing—more than I ever had before.
Once I was off the steps, my mom gave me a big hug.
“I want to disappear! I’ve never been so embarrassed(尴尬的) in my life,” I said.
Ollie smiled. “I think you are really brave.”
Indi added, “I now know that you truly can survive(幸存) a lot more embarrassment than you think.”
1.The family decided to have a talent show because ______________.
A. they wanted to show thanks to donators
B. they would like to make the neighborhood happy
C. they planned to run a bigger store in San Francisco
D. they hoped more people could care about the food bank
2.Which of the following is the best to fill in “ ______” in the passage?
A. but there is no way. B. what if we do it alone?
C. let’s get the words out. D. why not sing a song?
3.The changing of the writer’s feelings to the performance can be described as .
A. embarrassed→ encouraged→ nervous→ confident
B. confident→ nervous→ embarrassed→ encouraged
C. nervous→ embarrassed→ confident→ encourag.ed
D. encouraged→ confident→ embarrassed →nervous
4.What will most probably happen in the following part of the passage?
A. More people came to know about the food bank.
B. Mareya came and continued the performance.
C. Fewer people donated because of the performance.
D. Andi and Mareya went to other places for donation.
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3D printing is becoming more ancl more popular. We are now able to print things such as clothing, musical instruments and even cars. People and businesses are able to create the things they need very quickly and easily by using 3D printers.
But can you imagine printing food? Some scientists are trying to change the dining experience completely by doing this. They hope that having a 3D printer in the kitchen will become as common as the blender or microwave. Scientists say that they are easy to use: you simply have to choose a recipe(食谱) and put the uncooked food“inks” into the printer to make the food you want. This means that it would be very quick and easy to create tasty and healthy meals.
Using 3D printers to create your meals would also be saving the environment, There would be less need for traditional growing, shipping and packaging steps as food production would be a lot quicker and better. For example, tree leaves and insects could be turned into tasty products!
Printing food could also help people who have a swallowing(香咽) trouble. They could program the printer to print softer kinds of their favorite foods so that they would not have difficulty swallowing them.
However, some people think that a future of 3D-printed food would be a disaster. It could take away many jobs, including those for growing, shipping and packaging food. Imagine a world where there was no need for farming or growing crops and the same tastes and structures could be printed from an uncooked “food ink”. Traditional cafes and restaurants might lose business, too.
Also, there are worries about the healthy value of printed food: is it really possible to get what we need from food-based “inks” or something like that?
As we know, cooking and eating together with family and friends has long been a traditional and enjoyable activity. It is hard to imagine a world where the pastime of cooking is dead and meals can be created at the touch of a button.
1.The second paragraph mainly tells us .
A. we can change our recipes by 3D food printing
B. there are many ways of printing food on the 3D printer
C. 3D food printing has become very common in the kitchen
D. some scientists are trying to make 3D food printing used wildely
2.The writer gives the example in Paragraph 3 in order to .
A. show us how 3D food printing works
B. tell us why we should use 3D food printing
C. help us to know what we can use to print food
D. let us understand when to use 3D food printing
3.How many disadvantages of 3D food printing are mentioned from the last two paragraphs?
A. Two. B. Three. C. Four. D. Five.
4.What is the writer’s opinion about 3D food printing?
A. 3D-printed food is tasty and necessary.
B. It is difficult to understand 3D food printing.
C. Cooking food is more pleasant than printing food.
D. It is happy to see the change of the dining experience.
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The word culture includes not only the customs of our society, its art, music, but also everyday activities. Cultures give us a sense of belonging in society. So the losing of one’s culture is, for many, alarming. Many people believe their traditional ways of life are under threat (威胁) and that something should be done. Yet for some, the losing of culture is a natural result of globalization(全球化) and progress. So is the globalization of culture a threat or a chance?
Those who see globalization as a threat argue that societies are losing special parts of their cultures. For example, Omotik, a language spoken in East Africa, has only 50 live speakers. There are also increasing fears in China, where the losing of musical and dance traditions, as well as traditional crafts, is causing concern to many. Some argue that it is hard to find differences between London and Tokyo. Young people, whose ideas are often influenced by Western or other popular cultures, often refuse or even give up the traditions their parents grew up with.
Others focus on the advantages of globalization. They accept that Western culture is spreading, but they also point to how Western countries and many other parts of the world are being shown to world cultures. Young Americans enjoy Japanese comic magazines and watch Korean movies. Thai teenagers enjoy pop music from Hong Kong. Many argue that there are advantages to these cross-cultural exchanges and that they lead to better understandings between cultures. They say world traditions are celebrated more widely because of these. Chinese New Year, now celebrated in most big cities around the world, is just one of the many festivals that are accepted internationally.
Anyway, many grass-roots organizations and governments are making efforts(努力) to protect their cultures. One successful example is Wales. There was a time when social pressures were killing off the Welsh language, but after years of efforts, it is now an active part of Welsh life again. Around the world, similar efforts are going on.
1.Which of the following is an OPINION according to the passage?
A. Omotik is a language spoken in East Africa.
B. Young Americans enjoy Japanese comic magazines.
C. The globalization of cultures is a chance to traditional ones.
D. Chinese New Year is now celebrated in most big cities around the world.
2.The underlined word “concern” in Paragraph 2 probably means “________”.
A. worries B. changes C. differences D. problems
3.What does the underlined word “these” in Paragraph 3 refer to?
A. Advantages. B. World traditions.
C. Cross-cultural exchanges. D. Better understandings,
4.Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?
A. Culture Changes B. Threats to Culture
C. Culture Protection D. Exchanges of Cultures
