When her five daughters were young, Helen An always told them that there was strength in unity (团结). To show this, she held up one chopstick, representing one person. Then she easily broke it into two pieces. Next, she tied several chopsticks together, representing a family. She showed the girls it was hard to break the tied chopsticks. This lesson about family unity stayed with the daughters as they grew up.
Helen An and her family own a large restaurant business in California. However, when Helen and her husband Danny left their home in Vietnam in 1975, they didn't have much money. They moved their family to San Francisco. There they joined Danny's mother, Diana, who owned a small Italian sandwich shop. Soon afterwards, Helen and Diana changed the sandwich shop into a small Vietnamese restaurant. The five daughters helped in the restaurant when they were young. However, Helen did not want her daughters to always work in the family business because she thought it was too hard.
Eventually the girls all graduated from college and went away to work for themselves, but one by one, the daughters returned to work in the family business. They opened new restaurants in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Even though family members sometimes disagreed with each other, they worked together to make the business successful. Daughter Elizabeth explains, “Our mother taught us that to succeed we must have unity, and to have unity we must have peace. Without the strength of the family, there is no business.”
Their expanding business became a large corporation in 1996, with three generations of Ans working together. Now the Ans' corporation makes more than $ 20 million each year. Although they began with a small restaurant, they had big dreams, and they worked together. Now they are a big success.
The ocean waves (波浪) are getting stronger as a result of climate change, which might cause dangers for coast cities in the future, according to the latest study published in the scientific journal Nature. Researchers found that waves have increased in strength by 0.41 percent per year since 1948. This change is related to the increasing sea-surface temperature, which is driving sea level to rise and bringing more serious and extreme weather.
This relationship is important, as it shows that "global wave power can be a valuable reminder of global warming, carbon dioxide concentration, the global sea level rise or the global surface atmosphere temperature," said director of research at the Environmental Hydraulics Institute at Spain's University of Cantabria.
The study reveals a long-term and increasing wave energy. The effects of this increase are particularly clear during the storm seasons. A storm was formed in the winter of 2013-2014 in the North Atlantic, which affected the west coast of Europe. "The storm in 2017 in the Caribbean reminded people of the huge economic effects coming from coastal storms," said the study.
Researchers hope the findings could provide a more complete understanding of the dangers faced by coastal cities in the coming decades. "Our results show that ignoring the changes in wave power and having sea level rise may cause us to think little of climate change, which will result in not enough or poor preparation," warned the author Fernando J. Mendez, a professor at the University of Cantabria.
The findings may warn governments to better protect the population in the coastal cities and infrastructure (基础设施) such as ports and harbors by building coastal defenses.
It's never hard to identify pictures from Instagram: They're usually bright-colored, shot with tasteful lighting, and the people and items are artfully arranged in the frames (画面). Instagram photos seem much similar to each other and to be effortlessly perfect.
Even though it has been here for less than a decade, Instagram — a photo and video-sharing platform started in 2010 in the US — has redefined fashion, travel, food, and even art, because almost everyone wants to make themselves and things look "effortless" and "perfect".
But every trend has its sell-by date, including the so-called "Instagram aesthetic (审美)". Once young people figured out that what appeared to be effortless was actually carefully staged, they lost interest immediately. To them, "trying too hard" is never cool.
This is why a new trend is growing on Instagram - one that wants to be "more authentic", Lexie Carbone from social media marketing firm mentioned. For example, people have been posting "Instagram vs reality" photos to show the real side of themselves. One Instagram user, 22-year-old Reese Blutstein, has attracted over 238,000 followers since she began posting unfiltered photos of herself in strange outfits (装束). "For my generation, people are more willing to be who they are," said Blutstein. "We are trying to show a real person doing cool things as a real person, not trying to create a persona (人设) that isn't actually you."
So perhaps the "Instagram aesthetic" is not coming to an end after all. It's just evolving — into a cooler and more honest version of itself.
Despite the great progress in medical science, human beings are constantly attacked by cancer, which means death. A woman named Bonnie suffered a 1of discomforts caused by the treatment of cancer. She didn't regard cancer as a 2 disease, but a laughing matter. She treated it in a humorous way. To put it in3way, she is teaching people that even though cancer isn't4 we can treat it in a humorous way.
Her second child was going to be born three months away5she was diagnosed with cancer. Suddenly, a6 mother turned into a helpless woman afraid for her own7 It was after she had had her baby8that she had an operation9 came chemo (化疗) and her life seemed to be made up of fears and10 But the11moment in her life came after she lost all her hair and a free wig(假发) arrived. She12 it on as her older son Kyler watched.
“That was when I decided how to 13 it: crying over this bad wig or laughing about it14way would make15remember it.” Bonnie said. She spent a lot of time looking for anything funny from cancer patients. She got a lot out of collecting16 stories. She started laughing a lot, finding it the perfect medicine. Using herself as a bald (光头) model, Bonnie 17 to design her own greeting cards and calendars, making fun of the sufferings of chemo.
“To have joy, we badly18 to laugh,” she said.
Clearly, you can increase your confidence to 19 over any disease and trouble20 laughing.
China, which takes pride in inventions in ancient times, has once again demonstrated its (able) to change the world with its “new four great inventions”: high-speed railways, electronic payments, (share) bicycles and online shopping. The “new four great inventions” are all related China's high-tech innovation(创新), which has improved the quality of people's lives. “My wallet is no longer in use. I can buy and eat anything I want simply with a tap of my phone,” said Lin Jinlong,overseas Chinese student from Cambodia, (add) that “even pancake sellers are using Alipay (mobile payment). We can also order food at home, which is super convenient. If I (be) at home in Cambodia, I would have to go outdoors.”
The bikes themselves are not new, but the operating model of bike-sharing is based on satellite navigation system, mobile payment, big data and other high technologies. It is (increase) clear that China is innovating and no longer copying Western ideas. This is partly because China skipped over the PC age and went directly to mobile. China has the (large) mobile use in the world.
In terms of the “new four great inventions”, Charlie Dai, principal analyst of American market research company Forrester, said, “These products and services (improve) the customer experience so far, improving national and global economy at the same time”.
Methods to Help Solve Air Pollution
With the development of the industry, air pollution has become an internationally concerned issue. The governments are taking efficient measures to prevent the situation getting worse. Here are what you can do to help.
1 Leave your cars at home.
Cars, being the greatest source of air pollution, can be left at home this weekend. Other greener options are carpooling, riding a bike or you can also walk if you want a healthier option and if your workplace is not that far away from your home.
2 Volunteer yourself
This is one of the best things you can do. Why? Because it will do you good too.
If you have time, there are lots of opportunities out there to pitch in, for instance, planting trees, cleaning a park or simply coming up with ways you can preserve mother Earth.
3 Green-up your home.
This is one of the most common things that people do whenever Earth Day rolls around. That is to switch off their lights. However, this is not something you should do just for a day and for only an hour. In addition, take out all the plugs from plug points even after switching them off.
4 Pledge (保证) to do more every day
You know what the best way to celebrate Earth Day is? Extend your celebrations. That's right! Do something every day that will improve your surroundings to make the planet a better place to live in. The future of our planet is in your hands.
A. Bathing every day is bad for our health.
B. Voluntary work does good to your body and mind.
C. Travelling via public transport is the better option.
D. Join other like-minded individuals in a common task.
E. Always remember that every step, every initiative counts.
F. But as a member of the earth village, you can also help a lot.
G. Conserve energy by switching off all power whenever they are not in use.
Mr. Moses was once the head of World Architectural Association(WAA), yet he is now nothing more than a ______.
A ． retired anthropologist B ． retiring anthropology
C ． retired architect D ． retiring architecture
There have been frequent railway accidents in China recently, and that is people are concerned.
A．what B．where C．how D．that
Optimism and pessimism(消极) are both powerful forces. Each of us must choose which we want to ___36___ our future and our expectations. We can choose to laugh or cry, bless or ___37___. It’s our decision: from which perspective do we want to view life? Will we look up in ___38___ or down in desperation?
I believe in the upward look. I choose to ___39___ the positive and skip right over the negative.
An optimistic attitude is not a luxury(奢侈品); it’s a(n) ___40___. The way you look at life will determine how you feel, how you perform, and how well you will get along with other people. ___41___, negative thoughts, attitudes, and expectations ___42___ themselves; they become a self-fulfilling prophecy (预言). Pessimism creates a dark place where no one wants to live.
Years ago, I drove into a service station to get some gas. It was a beautiful day, and I was feeling great. As I walked into the station to pay for the gas, the attendant said to me, “How do you feel?” That seemed like a(n) ___43___ question, but I felt fine and told him so. “You don’t look well,” he replied. This ___44___ me completely by surprise. A little ___45___ confidently, I told him that I had ___46___ felt better. Without hesitation, he continued to tell me how bad I looked and that my skin appeared yellow.
By the time I left the service station, I was feeling a little ___47___. About a block away, I ___48___ over to the side of the road to look at my face in the mirror. How did I feel? Was I affected with jaundice(黄疸)? Was everything all right? By the time I got home, I was beginning to feel a little nauseous(恶心). Did I have a bad liver? Had I ___49___ some rare disease?
On another beautiful day, when I went into that gas station, feeling ___50___ again, I figured out what had happened. The place had recently been painted a bright, distasteful ___51___, and the light reflecting ___52___ the walls made everyone inside look as though they had hepatitis(肝炎)! I wondered how many other folks had ___53___ the way I did. I had let one short conversation with a total ___54___ change my attitude for an entire day. He told me I looked sick, and before long, I was actually feeling sick. That single ___55___ observation had a great effect on the way I felt and acted.
The only thing more powerful than negativism is a word of optimism and hope. When a whole culture adopts an upward look, incredible things can be accomplished.
36. A.decide B. shape C. preview D. transform
37. A. forgive B. praise C. curse D. regret
38. A. hope B. anger C. action D. vain
39. A.analyze B. highlight C. evaluate D. introduce
40. A.quality B. opportunity C. necessity D. identity
41. A. Actually B. Contrarily C. Similarly D. Consequently
42. A. rely on B. feed on C. go on D. take on
43. A. familiar B. ordinary C. easy D. odd
44. A. took B. got C. stopped D. made
45. A. more B. too C. quite D. less
46. A. ever B. never C. once D. always
47. A.unaffected B. unconcerned C. unsatisfied D. uneasy
48. A. got B. came C. took D. pulled
49. A. picked up B. brought up C.come up D. put up
50. A. sick B. upset C. fine D. calm
51. A. gray B. yellow C.blue D. red
52. A. off B. over C. in D. through
53. A. quit B. adapted C. answered D. reacted
54. A. liar B. onlooker C.stranger D. attendant
55. A. positive B. negative C. careful D. rigid
A Deed a Day
It was a busy day as usual. I was making sandwiches and balancing the phone between my shoulder
and chin. The washing machine sounded as my husband walked in with our daughters. We had only about twenty minutes to eat 41 we had to take the girls to their next activity. My husband seemed a bit 42 that dinner was not on the table.
That night, I had a heavy 43 , thinking we were becoming taskmasters on an assembly line (流水线). We had become too 44 in our own tasks and not very considerate towards
those around us. We needed to do something to bring back some meaning into our lives. It needed to be something that would 45 our own agendas and energize us toward the common good.
I bought a notebook, named it “Our Deed Diary” and held a family meeting. I told my family I wanted us all to think about doing a 46 for others every day. It could be for each other or for people outside our 47 . And we all needed to write it down in the notebook.
I thought one deed a day was too easy. However, it was actually 48 than it seemed because it had to be something 49 what we had already done. Sending birthday cards to people we already sent cards to every year would not 50 .
We had a rough 51 . On some days, someone would forget to 52 a good deed, while on other days, we would forget to write our good deeds in the diary. After a few weeks though, I found myself waking up in the morning trying to 53 what good deed I could do for someone that day. My daughters began to rush to me after school to 54 me the good deed they had done.
Now, after a year, I am happy to say that it is making a(n) 55 in our lives. Instead of always 56 what the day will bring for us, we think about what we can do for someone else.
Who would have thought that trying to do a simple kindness a day would be so 57 ? I feel my daughters have felt inner joy that you can only 58 by giving to someone else from your heart. The best thing is that you feel so great about doing something for someone else; you don't even look for or expect anything in 59 . So, when someone does return the favor, it is an enormous and positive 60 .
41. A. before B. while C. though D. unless
42. A. embarrassed B. frightened C. annoyed D. puzzled
43. A. heart B. shoulder C. foot D. stomach
44. A. successful B. absorbed C. confident D. interested
45. A. repeat B. recall C. refocus D. relate
46. A. task B. copy C. job D. kindness
47. A. home B. town C. school D. room
48. A. stranger B. harder C. bigger D. sweeter
49. A. between B. beyond C. about D. from
50. A. matter B. happen C. last D. count
51. A. time B. start C. idea D. life
52. A. praise B. record C. do D. check
53. A. describe B. explain C. remember D. decide
54. A. bring B. tell C. offer D. teach
55. A. effort B. fortune C. difference D. choice
56. A. forgetting B. believing C. knowing D. wondering
57. A. tiring B. rewarding C. surprising D. moving
58. A. experience B. exchange C. predict D. imagine
59. A. silence B. order C. time D. return
60. A. effect B. contribution C. bonus D. attitude
He came _____where I was hiding and my heart beat faster.
A. more closely to B. much closer
C. rather closer to D. quite closely to
When traveling, you sometimes have to go somewhere alone, always ____ your attention on your belongings.
A. focusing B. focuses C. focused D. focus
RED lanterns adorn(点缀) the aisles of a small supermarket. There are stacks of red envelopes on sale, for stuffing cash in and handing out as gifts. A sign offers seasonal discounts. Such festive trappings are quite common in China in the build-up to the lunar New Year, which this year starts on January 28th. But this is Yangon, the capital of Myanmar, where Han Chinese are a mere 2.5% of the country’s population. They are a sign that Chinese New Year is becoming a global holiday.
Several countries in Asia celebrate the lunar New Year in their own way. But dragon and lion dances in Chinatowns the world over have helped to make China’s the most famous. These days growing numbers of people who are not of Chinese descent are joining in. In Tokyo window cleaners dress up as the animals of the Chinese zodiac(十二生肖). Barcelona’s Chinese parade includes dracs (a Catalan species of dragon). America, Canada and New Zealand have issued commemorative stamps for the year of the chicken. Last year New York City made the lunar New Year a school holiday for the first time.
The spread of the spring festival, as China calls it, is partly due to recent emigration from China: 9.5 million Chinese people have moved abroad since 1978, many of them far richer than earlier waves of migrants. It also reflects the wealth and globe-trotting ambitions of China’s new middle class: festivities in other countries are partly aimed at the 6 million Chinese who are expected to spend their weeklong holiday abroad this year. International brands are trying to lure these big spenders with chicken-themed items.
Conscious of China’s growing economic and political clout, foreign leaders have taken to noting the occasion. Britain’s Prime Minister, Theresa May, has given a video address, a tradition started in 2014 by her predecessor, David Cameron. Last year the country’s royal family tweeted a picture of Queen Elizabeth dotting the eye of a Chinese lion-dancer’s costume. Also in 2016, Venezuela’s culture minister admitted that his country was celebrating Chinese new year for the first time—with six weeks of festivities—in a bid to improve economic ties with China. It is rumored that this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos was held a week earlier than usual to avoid clashing with Chinese New Year.
China also sponsors related events, such as a display this year of martial arts in Cyprus and a traditional Chinese temple-fair in Harare, Zimbabwe. It may give Chinese officials satisfaction to see foreigners enjoy such festivities. They lament the growing enthusiasm among Chinese for Western celebrations such as Christmas—in December cities across China are bedecked with Santas and snowflake decorations. Chinese New Year is a welcome chance to reverse the cultural flow.
66. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Many countries in Asia are similar to each other in celebrating the Chinese lunar New Year.
B. This year’s World Economic Forum in Davos was held a week earlier than usual to avoid clashing with Chinese New Year.
C. Venezuela is the first country in South America to celebrate the Chinese spring festival.
D. Partly owing to recent emigration from China, the Chinese spring festival could be spread worldwide.
67. Paragraph 2 is conducted by means of ________.
A. analyzing reasons B. giving examples C. listing arguments D. comparing facts
68. Which of the following has the closest meaning to the underlined word in Para 3?
A. hook B. attack C. interfere D. exclude
69. The sentence “China hopes the festival will boost its cultural ‘soft power’ abroad.” should be put at the beginning of Paragraph ________.
A. Two B. Three C. Four D. Five
70. Why are Chinese officials pleased to see foreigners enjoy Chinese new year festivities?
A. Because these activities are beneficial to improving economic ties with foreign countries.
B. Because these activities can bring about large amounts of money.
C. Because these activities offer a chance to promote Chinese culture.
D. Because these activities would bring forth peace and harmony of the world.
A characteristic of American culture that has become almost a tradition is to respect the self-made man----the man who has risen to the top through his own efforts, usually beginning by working with his hands. While the leader in business or industry or the college professor occupies a higher social position and commands greater respect in the community than the common laborer or even the skilled factory worker, he may take pains to point out that his father started life in America as a farmer or laborer of some sort.
This attitude toward manual (体力的) labor is now still seen in many aspects of American life. One is invited to dinner at a home that is not only comfortably but even luxuriously (豪华地) furnished and in which there is every evidence of the fact that the family has been able to afford foreign travel, expensive hobbies, and college education for the children; yet the hostess probably will cook the dinner herself, will serve it herself and will wash dishes afterward; furthermore, the dinner will not consist merely of something quickly and easily assembled from contents of various cans and a cake or a pie bought at the near- by bakery. On the contrary, the hostess usually takes pride in careful preparation of special dishes. A professional man may talk about washing the car, digging in his flowerbeds, painting the house. His wife may even help with these things, just as he often helps her with the dishwashing. The son who is away at college may wait on table and wash dishes for his living, or during the summer he may work with a construction gang on a highway in order to pay for his education.
32. From Paragraph 1, we can know that in America_____________.
A. people tend to have a high opinion of the self--made man
B. people can always rise to the top through their own efforts
C. college professors win great respect from common workers
D. people feel painful to mention their fathers as laborers
33. According to the passage, the hostess cooks dinner herself mainly because___________.
A. servants in America are hard to get B. she takes pride in what she can do herself
C. she can hardly afford servants D. it is easy to prepare a meal with canned food
34. The expression "wait on table" in the second paragraph means?
A. work in a furniture shop B. keep accounts for a bar
C. wait to lay the table D. serve customers in a restaurant
35. Which of the following may serve as the best title of the passage?
A. A Respectable Self--made Family B. American Attitude toward Manual Labor
C. Characteristics of American Culture D. The Development of Manual Labor
