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Many people look forward to the holiday season, which provides an opportunity to take a few days off, or go on a getaway. 1. The combined effort of shopping, attending social events, and entertaining guests can quickly become too much to handle.
2.This means you may end up with financial pressure. To prevent stress over money, plan ahead; review your finances, and come up with a practical budget.
Purchases shouldn't affect your ability to pay your bills, nor should it result in costly credit card debt.
The holiday season is stressful when you have too much on your plate. 3.You actually needn't cancel your plans, but make sure everything doesn't have to be perfect, and you don't have to do everything yourself- get your family involved.
A holiday season is not always an interval of true relaxation: Sometimes it can mean a lot of rushing around with confusion; allowing you no moment alone. 4.Even as little as 15 minutes alone can make a world of difference as you need to take a breather and clear your mind!
Being in close quarters with your family members for a long holiday can be stressful in itself. Because of your different personalities, it may be easy to rub each other the wrong way. If you let every remark get under your skin, you'll be stressed out the entire time. 5. Don't let the actions of others rob you of your joy.
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Many people travel during the holiday season but do not make sure that their houses and homes 1. (protect). Crime goes up2. (rapid) during the winter and summer holiday seasons. Here are some things that you should keep in mind when you go on 3.
holiday.
Always give4. (strange) the feeling that you are at home. Have the snow5. (clean) off your stairs or out of your driveway during the winter season. You might ask someone to park6. cars in your driveway.
Tell your newspaper deliverer that you are not at home. 7. (have) a pile of newspapers and other mail on your doorsteps tells people that you are not at home, so you could also have a neighbor8. a relative get your mail every day.
Fix a timer in some of your rooms9. turns lights on and off during different times of the day. Some TVs also come with a timer that you could set to be turned on during certain times. Have motion (运动) sensitive lights outside your house that keep thieves away10. you are not at home.
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阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或括号内单词的的正确形式。
Many people travel during the holiday season but do not make sure that their houses and homes __1._ (protect). Crime goes up __2._ (rapid) during the winter and summer holiday seasons. Here are some things that you should keep in mind when you go __3.__ a holiday.
Always give __4. (strange) the feeling that you are at home. Have the snow __5. __(clean) off your stairs or out of your driveway during the winter season. You might ask someone to park __6._ cars in your driveway.
Tell your newspaper deliverer that you are not at home. __7.__ (have) a pile of newspapers and other mail on your doorsteps tells people that you are not at home, so you could also have a neighbor __8.__ a relative get your mail every day.
Fix a timer in some of your rooms _9.___ turns lights on and off during different times of the day. Some TVs also come with a timer that you could set to be turned on during certain times. Have motion (运动) sensitive lights outside your house that keep thieves away__10.__you are not at home.
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Here's a list of books I'm looking forward to this fall season. Not all of them will rise to the level of the advertisement, but it's an abundant crop.
"Home After Dark" by David Small (Liveright, Sept. 11 )
In 2009, Small published a celebrated graphic memoir (回忆录) called"Stitches". Now the Caldecott Medal winner is back with a graphic novel about a motherless 13-year-old boy brought up in an unhappy home in California. This is a tale told in few words and many striking images. On Sept. 11 at 3p.m., Small will be at Amazonbooks at Union Market. More information at www. amazon.com/graph-tale.
"Waiting for Eden" by Elliot Ackerman (Knopf, Sept. 25)
This brief novel is related by a dead soldier who is watching over a horribly burned partner in a Texas hospital. That sounds embarrassingly emotional, but Ackerman, who served in a Navy in Iraq and Afghanistan, is one of the best soldier-writers of his generation. More information at www. amazon. com/military-essay.
"All You Can Ever Know" by Nicole Chung (Catapult, Oct. 2)
Chung, the editor of the literary magazine Catapult, was adopted as a baby by a white family in Oregon. In this memoir, she writes about her childhood, her Asian American identity and her search for the Korean parents who gave her up. More information at www. amazon. com/politics-prose.
"Unsheltered" by Barbara Kingsolver (Harper, Oct. 16)
Alternating between past and present, this novel tells the story of a woman investigating a late-19th-century science teacher who was caught up in the controversy over Darwinism. Like her other novels, this one promises to explore social and scientific problems. Visit www. amazon. com/tech-science for more information.
1.If you hope for a signature of the author, you will probably buy a copy of ________.
A. All You Can Ever Know
B. Waiting for Eden
C. Home After Dark
D. Unsheltered
2.Who joined the army and was sent to the Middle East?
A. Elliot Ackerman.
B. David Small.
C. Barbara Kingsolver.
D. Nicole Chung.
3.If you want to read books about non-fiction, you can surf________.
A. www. amazon. com/graph-tale
B. www. amazon. com/politics-prose
C. www. amazon. com/military-essay
D. www. amazon. com/tech-science
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During the holiday season, many of us feel pressure to find our loved ones the “perfect” gift. Why? Because gift-giving has long been considered a prime way to express love. However, recent research suggests that small acts of kindness, like a kind word, hugging a child or receiving sympathy, make people feel most loved and supported.
In the study, 495 men and women between the ages of 18 and 93 completed a questionnaire evaluating 60 possible ways that people can feel love. The storyboards included situations like spending time with friends, receiving gifts, and spending time in nature. The survey also included negative interactions, like being controlled and criticized (批评) by others.
The findings highlight the psychological benefits that close relationships can offer. In fact, study participants ranked human interaction as a more significant expression of love than receiving material items, like presents. Connecting with others was also rated more highly than getting positive feedback on the Internet, indicating that people get the most support from personal human contact.
“During the holidays，anxiety rises, making it harder to remain present with ourselves and others. However, the power of spending time with another person is a gift we can give at any moment,” says Dr. Carla Naumburg, a mindfulness coach and social worker in Newton, Mass. He suggests balancing party planning and online shopping with moments of human connection. Activities like reading to a child, meeting a friend for a walk, or taking a moment to call a family member, are ways to express love and care and can keep us emotionally grounded.
While the idea of offering loved ones the gift of our time may pale in comparison to giving them a generous present, recent research shows shared human experiences can tighten social bonds. Despite personality differences，most people agree on what makes us feel loved—the presence of our loved ones.
1.What does the text mainly focus on?
A. Gift and holiday economy. B. Social and personal relationships.
C. Stress and human progress. D. Selfish and generous love.
2.What can we know about the questionaire?
A. About 500 men participated in it.
B. Participants disliked negative interactions.
C. A wide range of age groups got involved.
D. Participants had limited ways to feel love.
3.What does Dr. Carla Naumburg intend to tell us?
A. People often find it difficult to stay with others.
B. Face to face connection is a gift to show love.
C. Reading to a child is the best way to convey love and care.
D. Balancing holiday activities with relaxation is recommended.
4.What might be the best title of the text?
A. Gift-giving is already out of date.
B. Social interaction lights up your holidays.
C. It is not presents but presence that counts.
D. Stress causes people to withdraw from others.
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The winter holiday, when I am looking forward to, is coming. What fun it is to have sports! Play football is one of my hobby. I can also ride my bicycle, climb high mountains, or go skating. Sometime I can play the chess with Grandfather. How interested my holiday will be! But my father is always afraid I would be hurt by a truck, fall into water, and fall off a tree. He is afraid I would fight against others or taken away by bad men. But if I’m friendly and carefully enough, how will these things happen? I must try best to persuade my father.
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---How time flies! We’re near the end of the year.
---_____ I’m looking forward to the winter holiday!
A.Take your time B.You said it C.I don’t buy it D.You have my word
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How happy we are! The holiday we have been looking forward _______ at last.
| A．to has come | B．to have come |
| C．to having come | D．has come |
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Each year, backed up by a growing anti-consumerist movement, people are using the holiday season to call on us all to shop less.
Driven by concerns about resource exhaustion, over recent years environmentalists have increasingly turned their sights on our “consumer culture”. Groups such as The Story of Stuff and Buy Nothing New Day are growing as a movement that increasingly blames all our ills on our desire to shop.
We clearly have a growing resource problem. The produces we make, buy, and use are often linked to the destruction of our waterways, biodiversity, climate and the land on which millions of people live. But to blame these issues on Christmas shoppers is misguided, and puts us in the old trap of blaming individuals for what is a systematic problem.
While we complain about environmental destruction over Christmas, environmentalists often forget what the holiday season actually means for many people. For most, Christmas isn’t an add-on to an already heavy shopping year. In fact, it is likely the only time of year many have the opportunity to spend on friends and family, or even just to buy the necessities needed for modern life.
This is particularly, true for Boxing Day, often the target of the strongest derision(嘲弄) by anti-consumerists. While we may laugh at the queues in front of the shops, for many, those sales provide the one chance to buy items they’ve needed all year. As Leigh Phillips argues, “this is one of the few times of the year that people can even hope to afford such ‘luxuries’, the Christmas presents their kids are asking for, or just an appliance that works.”
Indeed, the richest 7% of people are responsible for 50% of greenhouse gas emissions. This becomes particularly harmful when you take into account that those shopping on Boxing Day are only a small part of our consumption “problem” anyway. Why are environmentalists attacking these individuals, while ignoring such people as Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, who has his own￡1.5bn yacht with a missile defence system?
Anyway, anti-consumerism has become a movement of wealthy people talking down to the working class about their life choices, while ignoring the real cause of our environmental problems. It is no wonder one is changing their behaviours—or that environmental destruction continues without any reduction in intensity.
1.It is indicated in the 1st paragraph that during the holiday season, many consumers .
A.ignore resource problems
B.are fascinated with presents
C.are encouraged to spend less
D.show great interest in the movement.
2.It can be inferred from Paragraphs 2 and 3 that the environmentalist movement .
A.has targeted the wrong persons
B.has achieved its intended purposes
C.has taken environment-friendly measures
D.has benefited both consumers and producers
3.The example of Roman Abramovich is used to show environmentalists’ .
A.madness about life choices
B.discontent with rich lifestyle
C.ignorance about the real cause
D.disrespect for holiday shoppers
4.It can be concluded from the text that telling people not to shop at Christmas is .
A.anything less than a responsibility B.nothing more than a bias
C.indicative of environmental awareness D.unacceptable to ordinary people
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When you're looking forward to taking a holiday in Egypt, you're certainly not short of choices. The country has so many to see that you'll probably not want to limit yourself to just one city.
Hurghada-A Water Sports Paradise
With 250 hotels ranking from comfortable 3-star hotels
Lip to 5-star accommodation, the main attraction of staying here is the activities in and on the warm waters. It has become an international centre for water sports, allowing visitors to take part in surfing, sailing and deep sea fishing. The waters are also home to a huge variety of coral and fish, making it a dream spot for diving. If all that isn-t enough, Hurghada is home to some of the world's finest underwater gardens.
Luxor-An Open Air Museum of Ancient History
For those with an interest in Egyptian history, Luxor is an excellent place to stay and is built upon the site of the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes. If you make this the base for your Egypt holiday, you're basically staying in an open air museum!
The modern city of Luxor has the ruins of Karnak. Across the Nile lie many more monuments, temples and tombs including the Valley of the Kings and the Queens. The Nile sailing is necessary for those with an interest in the country's ancient history.
Cairo- The Capital City
Finally, of course, there's Cairo. It-s definitely a starting point for most of Egypt holiday makers. Cairo offers an excel-llent mix of culture, art, cooking and sightseeing chances. With the famous pyramids, various temples and some fascinating museums, Cairo is a fantastic choice if you can come to the city.
1.Visitors flood to Hurghada mainly because it can offer them _ .
A. the funniest botanic gardens
B. choices of water activities
C. a brief history of Egypt
D. the mix of culture and art
2.Which of the following cities do most tourists visit first in Egypt?
A. Cairo. B. Luxor. C. Thebes. D. Hurghada.
3.This passage is most probably taken from _ .
A. a historical document B. a science magazine
C. a travel guide D. a book review