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Georiga O’Keeffe always thought of herself as an artist. By 1928, the rest of the world did, too. At the age of 41 she was living in New York City and becoming a well-known painter. Still, O’Keeffe wasn’t happy. New York had been a good source of ideas for almost ten years. Now those ideas were drying up. O’Keeffe felt like she needed a change. She had visited New Mexico in 1917 with her sister. The wide open space had thrilled her. “Maybe I should go back,” she thought. In April of 1929, O’Keeffe packed her bags.
The wide open space of New Mexico drew O’Keeffe in. She spent hours just watching the sky change. Because the light was so clear, she felt like she could see for the first time. The beauty of the land renewed her. She couldn’t wait to start painting. Cow and horse skulls and desert flowers filled her canvases (画布). The colors of the desert inspired O’Keeffe. As a result, she made new choices in her artwork. “The color up there is different,” she explained. She loved the dusty blues and greens.
That August, O’Keeffe went home to New York. It was the start of a pattern. Each spring, she traveled to New Mexico to paint. These trips restored her spirit. Then, in the fall, she would return to New York. There, she showed her work. Each time O’Keeffe visited New Mexico, she explored a little more.
The bleached animal bones and skulls that O’Keeffe found excited her because she could see their special beauty. The bones didn’t mean death to O’Keeffe. To her, they showed the lasting beauty of the desert. The landscapes, clear light, and bright colors also spoke to her. She often painted close-ups of the rocks and mountains. Later, she began to travel more in search of new ideas. However, she always came back to New Mexico.
As O’Keeffe grew older, her eyesight began to fail. Still, O’Keeffe wasn’t ready to give up. Her friend Juan Hamilton helped her work with watercolors. He also taught her to sculpt. As a result, she made art into her 90s. When she died at the age of 98, Hamilton sprinkled her ashes over the desert. Her body became part of the land that had touched her art and her life.
1.O’Keeffe was unhappy in New York in 1928 because __________.
A.she was lack of the creative ideas B.she felt disappointed about her job
C.she was not successful as an artist D.she felt bored about life in a big city
2.After her trips to New Mexico, O’Keeffe __________.
A.received great reputation there B.discovered the meaning in her life
C.chose to settle down in that country D.got new thoughts from the scenery
3.What can we know about O’Keeffe from the passage?
A.She was never afraid of failure and death. B.She was devoted and passionate about art.
C.She was patient with the coming chances. D.She was curious about the nature of people.
4.Which of the following could be the best title for this article?
A.Lifestyle in the Desert B.Special Love for Art
C.Inspiration from the Desert D.Modern Women Artists
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This is the little girl __________ the famous artist said was thought of as a very talented and promising painter in the future.
A.whom B.who C.whose D./
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Tom has always thought of himself as a good cook and never fails to __________ everyone of it.
A. remember B. introduce
C. remind D. interrupt
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1.An artist i_（受启发）by the scene painted this beautiful picture.
2.Jane Goodall devoted most of her time to o_ the behaviors of chimps.
3.It is no use a_with others about this issue, since everyone holds different opinions.
4.Our factory is e _ with modern machines, thus increasing the production a lot.
5.It began as just an_（平常的）Monday, but soon became a day I would never forget.
6.They _（拥抱）each other when they met at the airport.
7.The machine will not f_ properly if it is not kept well-oiled.
8.Please accept the present as a_（纪念品）for our friendship.
9.The boy _（摇摆）his arms as he walked.
10.The children got _（晒伤的）from a day on the beach.
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People have always been dreaming of going to the moon. As long as the year 1901, H. G. Wells, an English writer, wrote a book vividly describing a trip to the moon. On landing there, the explorers discovered that the moon was full of underground cities. Words failed to express their surprise when they spotted so many “moon people”. The “moon people” felt even more surprised. “Why,” they asked, “are you traveling to outer space when you don’t even use your inner space?”
H. G. Wells could only imagine a travel to the moon. In 1969, human beings really left their footsteps on the moon. People today know that there are no underground cities on the moon. However, the question that the “moon people” asked is still an interesting one. A growing number of scientists are seriously thinking about it.
Underground systems are already in place. Many cities have underground car parks. In some cities, such as Tokyo, Seoul and Montreal, there are large underground shopping areas. The “Channel”, a tunnel connecting England and France, is now complete.
But what about underground cities? Japan’s Taisei Corporation is designing a network of underground systems, called “Alice Cities”. The designers imagine using surface space for public parks and using underground space for flats, offices, shopping, and so on. A solar dome (太阳能穹顶) would cover the whole city.
Supporters of underground development argue that building down rather than building up is a good way to use the earth’s space. The space, they say, can be used for farms, parks, gardens, and wilderness. H. G. Wells’ “moon people” would second it. Would you?
1.The explorers in H. G. Well’s story were surprised to find that the “moon people” ________.
A. knew so much about the earth
B. understood their language
C. lived in underground cities
D. were advanced in technology
2.What does the underlined word “it” (paragraph 2) refer to?
A. Discovering the moon’s inner space
B. Using the earth’s inner space
C. Meeting the “moon people” again
D. Traveling to outer space
3.What sort of underground systems are already in place?
A. Offices, shopping areas, power stations.
B. Tunnels, car parks, shopping areas.
C. Gardens, car parks, power stations.
D. Tunnels, gardens, offices.
4. We can learn from the text that ________.
A. H. G. Wells once went to moon himself.
B. Underground cities are more comfortable.
C. The solar dome is a necessary part of underground cities.
D. More underground systems will be in place in 2013.
5.What would be the best title of the text?
A. Alice Cities — cities of the future
B. Space travel with H. G. Wells
C. Enjoy living underground
D. Building down, not up
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By 2050, a completely new type of human evolve as a result of extremely new technology, behavior, and natural selection. This is according to Cadell Last, a researcher at the Global Brain Institute, who claims mankind is undergoing a major “evolutionary transition”.
In less than four decades, Mr. Last claims we will live longer, have children in old age and rely on artificial intelligence to do ordinary and boring tasks. This shift is so significant, he claims, it is comparable to the change from monkeys to apes, and apes to humans. “Your 80 or 100 is going to be so radically different than your grandparents,” Mr. Last says, who believes we will spend much of our time living in virtual reality. Some evolutionary scientists believe this age could be as high as 120 by 2050.
Mr. Last claims humans will also demonstrate delayed sexual maturation, according to a report by Christina Sterbenz in Business Insider. This refers to something known as life history theory which attempts to explain how natural selection shapes key events in a creature’s life, such as reproduction. It suggests that as brain sizes increase, organisms need more energy and time to reach their full potential, and so reproduce less.
Instead of living fast and dying younger, Mr. Last believes humans will live slow and die old. “Global society at the moment is a complete mess,” he told MailOnline. “But in crisis there is opportunity, and in apocalypse (启示) there can be transformation. So I think the next system humanity creates will be far more sophisticated, fair, and abundant than our current civilization.”
“I think our next system will be as different from the modern world, as our contemporary world is from the medieval (中世纪的) world. The biological clock isn't going to be around forever,” he added, and said that people could pause it for some time using future technology.
The change is already happening. Today, the average age at which a woman in Britain has her first baby has been rising steadily stands at 29. 8. In the US, just one percent of first children were born to women over the age of 35 in 1970. By 2012, that figure rose to 15 percent.
“As countries become socio-economically advanced, more and more people, especially women have the option to engage in cultural reproduction,” Mr. Last added. And as well as having more child-free years to enjoy leisure time, he believes artificial intelligence will make up the need for low-skill jobs. We may also spend a large amount of time living in virtual reality. “I’m not quite sure most people have really absorbed the implications of this possibility,” Mr. Last said.
His views are detailed in a paper, titled “Human Evolution, Life History Theory, and the End of Biological Reproduction" published Current Aging Science.
1.According to Cadell Last, a completely new type of human will appear because of ________.
① artificial intelligence ② new technology ③ natural selection ④ mundane tasks ⑤ behavior
A. ②③⑤ B. ①②③ C. ③④⑤ D. ①②⑤
2.Which statement is compared by Mr. Last to the change from monkeys to apes, and apes to humans?
A. We have diseases and die young.
B. We spend less time in virtual reality.
C. We give birth to a child when we are young.
D. We use intelligent robots to do everyday housework.
3.The underlined words in the third paragraph most probably mean “________”.
A. Reproduction.
B. Reproduce less.
C. Natural selection shapes key events.
D. Organisms need more energy and time to ripen.
4.In the next system Mr. Last explained we can infer that ________.
A. women are engaged in careers or hobbies instead of giving birth to babies
B. women are engaged in playing computer games rather than working
C. women are engaged in cultural reproduction in place of men
D. women are engaged in living in virtual reality without options
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The company earned a lot of money. As a result, the members’ personal income rose by a/an __ of 13 percent.
| A．average | B．ordinary | C．common | D．usual |
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Marian Bechtel sits at West Palm Beach’s Bar Louie counter by herself, quietly reading her e-book as she waits for her salad. What is she reading? None of your business! Lunch is Bechtel’s “me” time. And like more Americans, she’s not alone.
A new report found 46 percent of meals are eaten alone in America. More than half（53 percent）have breakfast alone and nearly half（46 percent）have lunch by themselves. Only at dinnertime are we eating together anymore, 74 percent, according to statistics from the report.
“I prefer to go out and be out. Alone, but together, you know? “Bechtel said, looking up from her book. Bechtel, who works in downtown West Palm Beach, has lunch with coworkers sometimes, but like many of us, too often works through lunch at her desk. A lunchtime escape allows her to keep a boss from tapping her on the shoulder. She returns to work feeling energized. “I prefer to go out and be out . Today I just wanted some time to myself.” she said.
Andrew Mazoleny, a local videographer, is finishing his lunch at the bar. He likes that he can sit and check his phone in peace or chat up the barkeeper. “It’s a chance for self-reflection(自我反思). You return to work energetic and with a plan.” said he.
That freedom to choose is one reason more people like to eat alone. There was a time when people may have felt uncomfortable about asking for a table for one, but those days are over. Now, we have our smartphones to keep us company at the table. “It doesn’t feel as alone as it may have before all the advances in technology,” said Laurie Demerit, whose company provided the statistics(数据)for the report.
1.What are the statistics in Paragraph 2 about?
A.Food variety. B.Eating habits.
C.Table manners. D.Restaurant service.
2.Why does Bechtel prefer to go out for lunch?
A.To meet with her coworkers.
B.To catch up with her work.
C.To have some time on her own.
D.To collect data for her report.
3.What is the text mainly about?
A.The advantage of wireless technology.
B.The importance of self-reflection.
C.The stress from working overtime.
D.The popularity of having meals alone.
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She is an excellent student in our class, and she always ________ herself in her studies.
| A．hides | B．buries | C．covers | D．leaves |
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She is an excellent student in our class, and she always ________ herself in her studies.
A. hides B. buries
C. covers D. leaves