2024年中考英语完形，首字母专项训练

2025届顶峰相见之暑假篇 2024-07-01 A Why it's great to be a travel nurse? “I love the travelling part of my job. And, they pay me to go on holiday,” says Annie Carter, a travel nurse. But what's so great about the job? Carter, 29, has a(n) _____1_____ job. She’s a travelling nurse from the US. This means that she works on different projects for some time in _____2_____ parts of the country. Travel nurses often work for around20 weeks in one place, and move around the country depending on _____3_____ they are needed. For example, last year, Carter worked in a teaching hospital in Alaska for six months. Travelling nurses benefit (得益) in many ways. “I know I may want to settle down someday, but this job helps me decide where," Carter explains. “I have choices of where I can work." The _____4_____to choose where and when to work is a great benefit. Travel nurses can take time off when they want and don't need to be stuck at the same job day after day. Also, they can experience working in different hospitals and meet lots of people. Besides, the _____5_____of travel and living are included in the job so they don't need to worry about money, "But not everyone is a good fit for this job,” says hospital chairman Perry Richardson. He knows that _____6_____ a job every few months can be very stressful. But, for those who don't mind, being a travelling nurse is a job with lots of fun. 1. A. difficult B. unusual C. unforgettable D. tiring 2. A. various B. special C. poor D. all 3. A. whether B. how C. when D. where 4. A. work B. decision C. experience D. freedom 5. A. time B. cost C. flight D. way 6. A. hunting B. ending C. starting D. stopping B Sweden's Icehotel is the latest cool hotel in town, and it really is made of ice. So, how did this idea come about? It all started in 1990. A French artist held the opening of his exhibition in a man- made igloo on the f__________, Torne River-home of the Icehotel. The igloo a__________ many visitors. Among these visitors was a brave group of adventurers. They used the igloo as their accommodation(住处). This act of bravery inspired the construction of the Icehotel. Situated(位于) 200km above the Arctic Circle, the hotel is only open during the winter months. Why? Because the ice starts to m__________ in the spring time. This means that the hotel is built from scratch every year. But does this hotel have any of the facilities (设施) you find in a r__________ hotel? Well, actually, yes. In fact, the ice hotel seems to have everything: the famous “Absolut Ice-Bar”, an ice art exhibition and a cinema. It even has an ice sauna and spa to keep you warm. And, of course, you can enjoy the n__________ scenery around the hotel. There is a snowmobile travel which takes you across the snowfields. And if you're feeling brave, you can drive the snowmobile y__________. The Icehotel is a real find. In fact, it won the “Best Experience in Sweden" award in 2017. And, it's not impossible to get to either. There are f__________ and trains every day. So, what are you waiting for? Just make sure you wrap up warm and take a sleeping bag. 2024-07-02 Psychological tricks Want to get ahead in life? Here are some psychological tricks that could help. “If someone won't stop talking, 'accidentally’_____1_____ something (a pen, for example). Then, pick it up and start talking yourself. It's a great way to interrupt (打断) someone without them realising it." Jack “If you're doing something that makes you feel nervous, chew some gum or eat some food. It _____2_____ a part of your brain into thinking you couldn't be in danger because you're eating.” Kate "If you think someone is lying, ask them to send you an e-mail describing exactly what happened. People are less likely to lie by e-mail because their words are_____3_____." Pete “If you nod while asking someone a question, they're more likely to say yes. For example, if you work in a restaurant and you're taking _____4_____for drinks, if you say, 'a large one?’ while nodding, most people will say yes." Jessica “If you act really happy and excited to see people, the next time they meet you, they'll probably do the same. Dogs play this trick on us all the time!" Bob "If you're having _____5_____ motivating (激励) yourself to do something like learning a skill (an instrument, a language, ete.), tell yourself that you'll do it for just five minutes. A lot of the time, you'll end up going for much longer, but even if you don't, you've still had five minutes of practice.” Sebastian "If you want your friend to carry something like a bag of shopping, keep talking while _____6_____ them the bag. Most people will automatically take it without thinking. Others may become confused." Rachel Have fun! 1. A. borrow B. buy C. drop D. do 2. A. allows B. cuts C. fills D. tricks 3. A. printed B. recorded C. translated D. understood 4. A. cups B. menus C .orders D. tips 5. A. power B. control C. time D. trouble 6. A. handing B. showing C. sending D. throwing Find out how to be happy Are you happy? If you aren't, you need to move near friends who are. A new study shows that happiness is infectious (易传染的) and can flow through social groups. And the c______ you are to someone happy, the happier you'll be. The study was, carried out (开展) by the Harvard Medical School. The researchers discovered that a person's happiness is d__________ on the happiness of those around them. They, collected data on 5,000 adults between 1971 and2003. They were asked to share information about their r__________, close friends, place of residence(居住地) and place of work. They were also asked questions about whether they enjoyed life, and whether they felt hopeful about the f__________. The results were very interesting. The researchers found that those who had happy partners had an 8% higher c__________ of being too. And for those with hay are 429 more likely to be 1014%. And finally, those with a happy friend who lives less than half a kilometer away are 42% more likely to be happy. “Most importantly, we found that people are in social networks, and that the health and well-being (幸福) of one person a__________ the health and well-being of others," one of the researchers explained. “It makes sense that if people around you are happy, that might have an impact (影响) on your own happiness." So, in c__________ the best thing is to have a happy friend who lives less than a kilometre away from you. Do you have one? 2024-07-03 A What's the best way to have a party without spending too much money? Simple! Just follow our "hot tips". Hot Tip #1-Careful planning “It's all in the planning," say party experts. If you plan the number of guests, the menu and the venue (场地) with _____1_____ in mind, it won't be expensive. Remember, in this situation, less is more-the fewer guests you invite, the lower your costs will be. Equally, if you organise the party in your own home, it'll be cheaper for everyone. Hiring (租用) a venue or going to pubs or clubs will be too expensive. Also, if you buy a few candles and simple_____2_____, you'll be able to create a bar scene in your own front room. Hot Tip #2-Shop intelligently One of the biggest costs is the food and drink. If you shop efficiently (高效地), you will _____3_____ the expense of refreshments (茶点). In big supermarkets, you often have "three for the price of two" food offers. You can also pick up drinks quite cheaply if you look for _____4_____ . If you host a party, people won't expect a three course meal --- a simple spread of crisps, olives and dips is enough. Hot Tip #3-Caring is sharing Don't be scared to ask your guests to bring something. If you invite close friends, they'll be happy to bring something. For example, you could ask someone to bring some snacks and someone else to bring cups. _____5_____, the idea is to get your nearest and dearest together in honour of friendship and good times. So, what are you waiting for? Find an excuse to celebrate and start sending out those _____6_____ . But remember, save yourself some money, get creative and don't do everything yourself. 1. A. weather B. prices C. styles D. convenience 2. A . tools B. paintings C. decorations D. toys 3. A. cut back on B. make use of C. break down D. rely on 4. A. goods B. deals C. luck D. chance 5. A. For example B. Above all C. After all D. In fact 6. A. mails B. foods C. letters D. invitations B Ghost paper Is there a best way to promote (推广)toilet paper? A company from Japan has come up with a c__________ idea --- they've printed a short story on the paper! The story is called Drop, and it's set in a public toilet. “The story is on about one-metre-long toilet paper and can be read in a few m__________" said Takaki Hayashi, vice president (副总裁) of Hayashi Paper Company. The author behind the story is Koji Suzuki. He is regarded as one of Japan's leading horror writers. He has also written books about fatherhood and t__________ children's book into Japanese. Before Drop, he wrote a novel called Ring in 1991. The novel was made into a feature film of the same name and was very p__________ in Japan and Hollywood as well. So, what's the story Drop about? The nine-chapter tale is a scary story of a ghost that lives in a toilet bowl. It is based on a Japanese superstition (迷信). In many old Japanese houses, the toilets were often at the back of the house, in a dark c__________. There was a myth (传说) that a ghost lived in the toilet bowl. Parents told their children that a hairy hand would seize (杯住) them and pull them into the dark toilet bowl if they were n__________. As a result, many children grew up f__________ of "the ghosts in the toilets”. One day, Drop may be made into a film, but will we have to watch it in the toilet?" 2024-07-04 "It may not be the most beautiful of tongues, but in this day and age, it's very useful, " says Jean-Paul Nerriere. Nerriere is a retired French businessman. He made an interesting discovery. Throughout his career, he did a lot of international business and realised he had a (n) 1 time talking to non-native English speakers than he did with business colleagues from England. And that's why Nerriere invented" Globish". "Globish" is a very basic version of English. It only has 1, 500 words and its users 2 use humour, metaphor (比喻) , abbreviation (缩写) and some others because they can cause cross-cultural 3 . It has been invented for the practical purpose of communicating between cultures in a simple, yet clear way. "It's not a language, it's a tool," he says." A language is the vehicle of a culture. 'Globish' doesn't want to be that at all. It's only a means of communication." In the business world, more and more non-native English speakers must communicate in English but just don't have the 4 . For them, it's much easier to learn Globish than it is to learn English. “Globish” is similar to another language, Esperanto. The 5 of Esperanto is to create a flexible (灵活的) language that can be spoken freely across cultures to help international understanding. But is it a good idea? Surely there's more to a language than just being able to say what you need? And more importantly, if all the non-native speakers learn "Globish", how is that going to affect 6 English speakers? (1) A. busier B. harder C.easier D.happier (2) A. must B. mustn't C. will D. won't (3) A. exchange B. confusion C.transport D. dislike (4) A. Words B. time C. level D. environment (5) A. goal B. benefit C. rule D. meaning (6) A. other B.foreign C. clever D. native B What was the worst year in your country's history? A new study says that Britain's worst year ever was 1812. But why? For a start, Britain had been at war with France for nearly 20 years. This p 1 taxes to record levels. Also, a series of disastrous harvests meant the cost of living was really high. 1812 was also the year that Prime Minister Spencer Perceval was shot d 2 . He was killed in the House of Commons. Perceval is the only British prime minister to have been assassinated (刺杀). He was shot by a mentally sick man called John Bellingham. Bellingham was angry about his living s 3 and blamed Perceval. Perceval died almost at once, saying "I am murdered. Bellingham gave himself up (自首) and was h 4 a week later. 1812 was also the year that America declared war on Britain. At the time, Britain wanted to restrict America's trade with France. The Americans was mad and war broke out. Finally, 1812 was the year that King George III was removed from the throne. He was diagnosed (诊断) as mad, and his unpopular son, George (later to be George IV) , had to r 5 as regent (摄政王) . "So many things went wrong in 1812 that a 6 conditions for people," said historian Sarah Jénkins. But another year for Britain's lowest point has to be 1349 when the Black Death killed 30% of the p 7 . 2024-07-05 Female authors (作家) have been around longer than you think. But how did they get their work 1 ? Easy. . . they used fake (假的) names. George Sand is a man's name. However, the famous author George Sand was in fact a female author. Her 2 name was Amandine Aurore Lucile. She lived from 1804-1876. As a French writer, she used the pen name George Sand for many of her novels. George Eliot is the pen name for English novelist Mary Ann Evans. Evans said that she used this pen name 3 she wanted her works to be taken seriously. Her novels became very popular during her lifetime and she was praised as one of the best British authors of her time. Pen names are still being used today. When JK Rowling wrote the Harry Potter books, she used a penname. The "J" stands for her first name, Joanne. But the publishers wanted her to use a gender-neutral (中性化的) pen name because they were 4 that boys wouldn't read a science-fiction (科幻) book written by a woman. Rowling then added the" K" in honour of her grandmother Kathleen as she has no middle name. In 1996, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone became a huge success. And the name JK Rowling became well known around the world. Female authors have used fake names for many 5 . In the 1800s, women used them to be taken seriously. Now, they use them so they can attract a larger audience. But, do you think it 6 if a man or woman wrote Harry Potter? (1) A. remembered B. published C. saved D. copied (2) A. first B. real C. family D. pen (3) A. because B. before C. if D. when (4) A. confident B. worried C. disappointed D. surprised (5) A. plans B. novels C. facts D. reasons (6) A. makes sense B. makes progress C. makes a difference D. makes a mistake B Why do some people eat too much? Is it because they're hungry? Or is there a scientific explanation? There are a number of theories (理论) to explain overeating. One factor (因素) depends on the time of day." It's all part of a h 1 , " says Randy Seeley, a professor in Cincinnati." You're hungry at noon because that's the time you've eaten lunch for the past 100 days." Another reason we may eat more than n 2 because the body needs to satisfy a salt and sugar balance. This is why people "make room for dessert"----to satisfy a sweet t 3 or a craving (渴望) for sugar. Drinking alcohol also makes people eat more, because the body wants something to absorb (吸收) the alcohol. Overeating can also be a biological question. For example, your body temperature can tell your brain that you feel hungry. " Your body temperature d 4 when it's time to eat, and eating warms you up," says Gina Harlow, a professor at Harvard University. Also, the smell of certain foods can make us imagine the p 5 of eating them. Harlow adds, " If you know you love French fries, smelling them will make you want to eat them because you know how good they are. And that can l 6 to eating too many. " So, the next time you realise you've eaten too much, don't worry about it. You can always b 7 it on science. 2024-07-08 Gardening leave What would you do if you were suddenly given two months' paid leave? Well, most people in England would do some gardening. Just imagine the situation. Carol has just resigned (辞职) from her job at a computer software company. At first, the company are surprised as she is one of their top program developers. But then they start to 1 . What if she copies some data and takes them away with her? Carol still has 30 days to serve at the company. But now they don't want her in the office because they need to keep the company data 2 , So, they told her to take "gardening leave" ----still receives a pay check, but not 3 to come into the office. The term "gardening leave" describes the period of time when an employee (雇员) is still on the payroll (薪水册) , but can't come into the office." Gardening leave" is often given to employees who have important 4 within the company, especially if they are leaving to join a competitor. But why" gardening? Actually, in the UK, gardening is one of the top activities during the 5 time. So, the idea is that while you're sitting at home waiting for your contract (合同) to come to an end, you do a bit of gardening. "Gardening leave" is often given to Formula One motor racing technicians who move between teams. If they say they are leaving, they are 6 put on "gardening leave". This is to stop them taking important information. (1) A. worry B. relax C. think D. celebrate (2) A. clean B. alone C. safe D. unknown (3) A. advised B. asked C. arranged D.allowed (4) A. tasks B. salaries C. images D.positions (5) A. busy B. hard C. spare D.tea (6) A. finally B. immediately C. completely D. especially Do aliens really exist? Story 1 America West Flight 564 One of the most recent alien encounters (邂逅) happened in 1995. A passenger flight from America West Airlines was travelling east, heading over a small town in Texas. The pilot n 1 a set of white lights flashing from left to right. The lights seemed to be floating in the air below the airplane. The pilot thought it was strange and reported it. Strangely, t 2 controllers saw nothing on their radars. As the plane moved on, the pilot could see the object much more clearly and reported that it was an unidentified flying object (a UFO) . Later, NORAD (北美防空联合司令部) confirmed that an unknown object was moving at incredible(难以置信的) speeds in that area. Story 2 Farmington, New Mexico New Mexico seems to be the centre of a lot of alien a 3 . In the 1940s, residents in Farmington, New Mexico, reported seeing hundreds of high-speed objects flying through the sky. The objects were describe as silver disks. Were they alien spaceships? Many people seem to think so. Story3 Antonio Villas Boas The story of Antonio Villas Boas, a Brazilian farmer, is another famous alien story. This was one of the first stories to receive widespread a 4 . Boas was a farmer in Brazil and worked nights in order to avoid the hot summer days. One particular night, Boas saw a red light in the sky. He said it looked like a star. As it came closer, Boas could see it was \some type of spacecraft. Later, aliens l 5 Boas onto the ship, and took samples of his blood. They also gave him a tour of the spaceship. Finally, they let him out after he tried to s 6 something as evidence (证据) of the experience. Boas died in 1992. He never changed his story about his so-called alien encounter. 2024-07-09 B. 完形填空 How much television do you watch? Do you really give an honest answer? About 1,000 TV-watching Americans, aged 18-49, took part in a survey. Around 46% said that they 1 about having watched a TV show. This survey was conducted at Ball State University in the US. It was used to find out how much television people view acording to their age. It was paid for by a council (委员会) connected with the Nielsen Company, which decides TV ratings. The 2 is that people spend more than 8 hours a day looking at a screen. This includes mobile phones and computers, but 3 , television screens. There are also three interesting things about this study. The first is that people watch more than one hour advertisements per day. Next, though they have other 4 , such as DVDs and internet videos, television is still the most popular media source. The last is that the amount of screen-watching people is nearly the same 5 how old they were. So, if everyone is watching television, why don't they tell the truth? Well, if someone admits (承认) they watch television for five or six hours, they could be considered a couch potato. Michael Phillips, one of the study's main researchers, says, “There's a social stigma (污名) for people who watch too much television. Sometimes, 6 , watching the latest TV show gives co-workers and friends fun things to talk about.” Even if we do watch a lot of television, we may use this study as a reason to be honest with ourselves about how much time we spend watching television. I mean, after all, everyone else is doing it. ( ) 1. A. talked B. cared C. lied D. thought ( ) 2. A. result B. news C. record D. report ( ) 3. A. finally B. mostly C. partly D. actually ( ) 4. A. ideas B. machines C. hobbies D. choices ( ) 5. A. no matter B. according to C. because of D. instead of ( ) 6. A. then B. besides C. however D. still C. 首字母 On a chilly March evening in 2014 in Lucedale, Mississippi, Ann Bosche, then 53, stood on her front steps while her mini dachshund (达斯科猎犬), Gracie, took a bathroom break. Gracie sniffed (嗅) an unwelcome (1) v under the camellia bush and barked. Ann bent and saw a pair of green eyes. “Hello, there,” Ann said, and heard a meow in (2) r . Ann had two resident cats, Bosco and Junior. She went inside and returned with a bowl of cat food and slid it under the bush. The next night, the cat returned. Ann fed him again, moving the bowl closer to the house. After a week, the mystery cat (3) s himself. He was long-haired, with a plume of tail punctuated by a white tip. Ann called him Mr. Fancy, or Fancy for short. Soon, Mr. Fancy was strutting in and out of the cat door. However, Ann's husband, Gene, argued that Fancy should find a new home. “We don't need another (4) m to feed, and vet bills are expensive,” he said. Reluctantly, Ann agreed. The drive to the shelter (动物收容所) was heart-breaking. Ann cried. Fancy cried. She consoled (安慰) herself by thinking, “He's so beautiful and lovable. Somebody will want him.” On an early morning, a month later, Ann (5) w to the sound of Gene's voice. She went to see which animal he was talking to —— and saw a white-tipped tail. A thinner Fancy ran across the room to her. When she asked the shelter what had happened, she learned that Fancy had escaped 20 minutes after she had left, when a worker opened the (6) c to feed him. Somehow, over the next month, he'd navigated the three miles -running across railroad tracks, busy streets, and sketchy neighborhoods —— (7) b to the Bosches. “This cat is meant to be here,” Ann says. Even Gene agrees. “Whatever time I have with Fancy,” Ann says, “they're going to be the best years of his life.” 2024-07-10 B. 完形填空 International English Magazine Short Story Competition Topic: Going back Name: Giacomo Alesal I had been looking forward to going back to the village where I was born for a long time. My family 1 the village 15 years ago and I hadn't been back since then. In the days before I went, I was excited. The village is special to me as I was born there and my family had lived there for years before that. I also felt a bit worried, however. I remembered a peaceful place with small shops along the main street, traditional houses and people siting under the trees, chatting to each other. I don't know why it mattered to me so much, but I didn't want to find that the village had changed beyond 2 . On the day I went, the sun was shining. I had decided to arrive 3 so I got off the bus at the edge of the village and I slowly walked along the rough road. As I got nearer, what I saw took my breath away. Right in front of my eyes was a large, modern building. I quickly realised it was a huge shopping centre. Immediately, I felt 4 and from that point on, I found that I was expecting the worst. I walked along the main street, however, and felt better and better. I saw trendy, new shops but old, traditional ones as well. There were new blocks of flats alongside the beautiful old houses. The roads were 5 than I had remembered, but there were still people siting under the trees in the main square. I realised that my village had changed, but that it wasn't the disaster that I had imagined. In fact, it was a 6 thing that the village had moved with the times and remained a thriving (蒸蒸日上的) place. ( ) 1. A. flew away from B. moved away from C. lived in D. worked in ( ) 2. A. itself B. time C. words D. recognition ( ) 3. A. by bus B. by car C. on foot D. by bike ( ) 4. A. disappointed B. confident C. nervous D. frightened ( ) 5. A. older B. busier C. wider D. quieter ( ) 6. A. strange B. different C. bad D. good C. 首字母 Most universities are regarded as centers for academic excellence. But, if they're not careful, they could end up becoming centers of ridicule (笑柄). Spelling mistakes among university students are (1) r an embarrassing level. In fact, it has become so bad that just recently a group of professors decided to publish the mistakes online. They were taken from undergraduates' tests and final papers, such as “escape goats” instead of “scapegoats”. Rob Stewart, a professor at the University of the West of England, was (2) c that his students would be able to spell the word “alcohol”. So, naturally, he was disappointed when one student wrote “alkerhol”. But it isn't just in universities where standards are (3) d . In 2009, the blog of Jim Knight, the UK's Schools Minister (英国教育大臣), was found to be full of spelling mistakes, for example, “recieving” with “-ie” (instead of “receiving” with “-ei”). When asked to explain what was going on, Knight said, “I'm normally a good speller; I just need to get better at (4) c it.” But who's to blame? Some say it's because of the English language. After all, with so many words with illogical (不合逻辑的) spellings, it's no wonder that even native speakers get it wrong. But others say it's a sign of the times, with (5) i technology leading to a lowering of standards, especially as a result of simplified (简化的) spellings in e-mails and text messages. “Most people just don't seem to care about spelling —— it's seen as something unimportant —— the (6) m is seen as central and key to communication, and spelling takes a back seat to that,” explained Kevin Blunkett, a professor from the University of London. “But when it comes to university students, we should (7) e more from them.” 2024-07-11 B. 完形填空 Witch work A job center in England has a vacancy (空缺) for a very unusual job: witch. The job sounds simple enough... if you're a witch. It pays £50,000 and is about entertaining (招待;娱乐) visitors at the tourist site Wookey Hole Caves. The successful person will have to sit in the caves and teach visitors about witchcraft and 1 . A member of staff from the site described the role in more basic terms, “You live in the cave, be a witch and do witch things.” The 2 are fairly basic. Applicants (求职者) must be able to laugh like a witch and they cannot be allergic (过敏的) to cats. Those who come to the interview should get dressed for work. They can also bring anything necessary, like some witch tools. According to the law, the job is 3 to men too. During the interviews, those people will be asked to perform a number of witches 4 , such as riding a broomstick and looking through a crystal ball. The job is available because the previous witch is 5 . “We are in desperate need of a witch at the moment, and we need to get someone as soon as possible,” a member of the staff at the caves explained. Many years ago, an elderly woman, who was said to be a witch, did actually live in the caves. “We want the successful applicant to go about her 6 business as a witch, so that people passing through the caves can get a sense of what the place was like in the Dark Ages.” ( ) 1. A. history B. magic C. medicine D. traditions ( ) 2. A. processes B. replies C. requirements D. measures ( ) 3. A. open B. interesting C. important D. different ( ) 4. A. positions B. actions C. shows D. tasks ( ) 5. A. missing B. tired C. retired D. bored ( ) 6. A. own B. everyday C. small D. usual C. 首字母 What do you want to do when you retire? Sit on a beach somewhere? Buy a house in a quiet village? Take up golf? Play bingo? Here are great ways to spend your retirement. “I couldn't be happier,” said Ed Carpenter, who is (1) e his retirement. Before retiring, Ed worked in public relations at Boston University. Now, as a die-hard (铁杆的) Red Sox fan, the 64-year-old man is giving tours of Fenway Park. The park is the baseball stadium (体育场) for the Boston Red Sox. “I have Fenway Park as my office and I (2) s my love of the Red Sox with people from all over the world every day,” he said. The tours are about one hour long, and many people say he is a great tour (3) g . “He has such a (4) m for detail and it's obvious he really likes this game. When he showed us around the park, he also told us some amazing stories of Fenway's colourful (5) h ,” said Patricia Fielding, who went on the tour with her husband. Doug Griffin is also having a good time during his retirement. Once he retired, he decided to make a job out of his (6) h making people laugh. His family always told him he should have been a comedian (喜剧演员). So, when Doug retired, he took a clowning class which was advertised in the local (7) n . And now, Doug is working as Lucky the Clown. He works part-time near his home in Ohio, and entertains children at parties. So, what are you going to do when you retire? 2024-07-12 Enjoy online searching Are you tired of pop-up boxes or afraid of viruses(病毒）？If online searching is causing you stress（压力),you may need to choose your words more_____1_____. A recent study on “dangerous” keywords to search for has some interesting results. The study was carried out by the USanti-virus software company McAfee. They wanted to find out the words which are_____2_____bring up viruses. They Google. The results showed that certain words bring up more viruses than others, looked at more than 2.600 words from major search engines such as Yahoo and Dangerous words include searches for screen savers, free games, free videos and news on celebrities or the latest music, _____3_____words like “lyrics, free music downloads, ringtones”. “Cyber criminals are smart,” said Jeff Green, senior vice president of McAfe.“ They know how to make use of the computer and to create malware. Malware is any software that can harm a computer by _____4_____its programmes. Like sharks smelling blood in the water, cyber criminals will quickly make a related website filled with malware whenever a topic becomes popular online. Then people who browse the websitewill_____5_____downloading malware. As a result, they will hand over their personal information to cyber criminals." Surprisingly, some popular keywords have turned out to be the least dangerous words while they are commonly found in spame-mails(垃圾邮件). The_____6_____keywords to search for are health-related words and economic news. So if you want to avoid infecting your computer with a virus, keep reading about health issues and the economic situation! 1. A. diligently B. carefully C. casually D. sincerely 2. A. supposed to B. included to C. likely to D. linked to 3. A. above all B. for example C. however D. instead 4. A. damaging B. stealing C. hitting D. replacing 5. A. be keen on B. be stopped from C. be tricked to D.be used to 6. A. easiest B. best C. luckiest D. safest B Karl Albrecht was born on 20th February 1920, in Essen, Germany, and died on 16th July 2014. He was one of the richest men in the world, and the richest German. His w_____1______ came from “Aldi”, a discount（折扣）supermarket chain. Part of the name of the supermarket comes from Albrecht's own name, the other coming from the word “discount”: “Albrecht Discount”. Albrecht developed his mothers small grocery store with his younger brother Theo after the Second World War. They took over her business in1946, and by1960 they o_____2______--300 stores. In the same year, the brothers split the company into two parts after an argument. Theo Albrecht now c____3_______ “Aldi Nord ”and Karl Albrecht is in charge of the more profitable “Aldi Sud”. The Aldi Group” now has over 8boo individual stores worldwide. So, it is no s_____4______ that on average a new store opens in the UK every week. Karl Albrecht turned “Aldi into a success by keeping the s______5_____ of the stores as small as possible, using his “no frills” policy. This includes spending very little money on advertising or on company comforts. Albrecht was very private. He drew back almost completely from public life, more so after he r ______6_______from "Aldi Sud” in 2002.He was known to enjoy playing golf on his personal golf course, and he tended a g_____7______of orchids. 2024-07-15 A Doggie intelligence A butcher is in his shop one day when a dog walks in. It has an envelope in its mouth. The butcher takes it out of the dog’s mouth and opens it. Inside, there’s 20$, and a(n)______1______.It says, Can I have a dozen pork chops(猪排) and a steak please？”The butcher is amazed. He gives the dog the______2_______in a bag, and places it around the dog's neck. The next day, the same thing happens. But this time, the butcher decides to ______3_______the dog home. So, when the dog leaves the shop, the man walks after it. He watches as the dog stops at some traffic lights. The dog presses the button to cross the road and waits. The green man on the traffic light ______4_______and the dog crosses, carefully watching for traffic. Next, the dog arrives at a bus stop. It waits patiently again and jumps onto a bus when it comes. The butcher is very______5_______and continues on his way. Eventually, the dog gets off the bus and walks to a house. The man watches from the street as the dog starts scratching（抓）at the door with his paw. After a couple of seconds, a woman opens the door and starts shouting at the dog. The butcher runs to the woman and says, Hey! What are you doing? This dog is amazing. He's the______6_______animal I've ever seen. And the woman replies, “What? This is the third time this week he's forgotten his key." 1. A. newspaper B. note C. e-mail D. page 2. A. steak B. order C. envelope D. meal 3. A. take B. carry C. follow D. lead 4. A. appears B. walks C. shouts D. waves 5. A. tired B. satisfied C. frightened D. impressed 6. A.most healthy B. most lazy C. funniest D. cleverest B When it comes to cosmetics（化妆品）, packaging is important. Beautiful boxes, bright colours, fancy-shaped bottles--- they all help the customer c_____1______ the product. But this is about to change. A British company is changing the market. Lush is a cosmetics company with hundreds of shops around the world. They market themselves as an eco-friendly brand. And when it comes to packaging, they're certainly living up to their word. Thirty-five percent of their products are sold naked (无包装的）,with no packaging. It isn’t very attractive but it's very g______2_______.Their hand creams and body lotions are sold in pots and bottles, and these plastic pots and bottles can be recycled. A person can return five clean black pots to any Lush store in e______3_______for a free fresh face mask. One of their greatest innovations is the use of popcorn. Most companies use plastic for their packaging. But Lush is d______4_______.They use recycled cardboard for the exterior（外部的）packaging, and popcorn to protect the product inside. At first, they had used paper pieces, but later moved on to popcorn. So why? Because popcorn is 60% l______5_______than paper pieces which means it takes less energy to transport. And there is no need to wrap the products in thin plastic any more. This in turn s______6_______great number of bags a year. So, next time you o______7_______ something online, check to see if there’s any popcorn packaging around your product. But don't eat it! 2024-07-16 House museums The UK is famous for museums, like the National History Museum and the British Museum. But there are hundreds of other museums that are worth______1_______. These museums are actually in the house where the famous person once lived. Here are some of the best house museums in the UK. House museums are a bit special. Going to the museums, you can take a look at the______2______of the famous person. You can see where they lived, how they lived and where they created some of their finest works. Sir John Soane’s Museum in London is an example. Sir John lived in London durirthe18th century (1753-1837) and his house is______3______how he left it. In fact, visiting his house is just like stepping back in time. It’s full of wonderful objects from around the world, such as valuable paintings, beautiful sculptures（雕塑)and an Egyptian mummy. The Dickens House Museum is______4_______the famous English writer, Charles Dickens. It is in Kem which Dickens always visited. There are lots of personal documents(档案), including many letters, in the exhibition rooms. The town also has an annual Dickens Festival, which takes place in June. During the festival, people ______5_______in Victorian clothing. There are exhibitions, parades and theatre plays. Some contemporary（当代的）artists open their homes as house museums, too. Ted Coney he created an art gallery at his home in England. He has been painting for over forty years. In his museum area group of______6______on family life and relationships. Some of the topics are the birth of the first child friends, marriages and bicycle tours. So, next time you go to England, why don't you visit a house museum? 1. A. discussing B. discovering C. considering D. visiting 2. A. character B. image C. wealth D. life 3. A. generally B. completely C. exactly D. fortunately 4. A. in favor of B. in honor of C. on behalf of D. on the side of 5. A. get up B. dress up C. put up D. stay up 6. A. paintings B. photos C. articles D. findings B What the World Eats What do you usually eat for dinner? What do you think people in other countries eat? That's what Faith D'Aluisio (a writer)and Peter Menzel (a photographer)wanted to know. Here are some of their findings. The results of their r______1_______ can be found in the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats. It is a photographic study of 30 families from 24 different countries across the world including the USA, Germany, Egypt, Chad and C______2______. The authors, Faith and Peter, worked together and looked at what these families eat in a week. They gave a breakdown in v______3_______kinds of food. Then they calculated how much each family spent on dairy products meat fish, eggs, fruit and vegetables during the week. The results are interesting. They show some d______4_______but also many similarities between countries. Not surprisingly, the family from the USA spends the most on fast food ($75 a week), with a total of $341.98aweek on food. However, they are not the b______5________spenders. The German family spends$500 a week, buying twice as much fruit, vegetable and nuts as the American family. The family from Chad spends an incredible（令人惊讶的）$1.23 on food for a week. And the Chinese family spends$155.06 a week, including 9.17on fast food, m______6_______at Kentucky Fried Chicken. So, which t______7_______ of food do you spend the most money on? How much do you spend on food altogether during a week? 2025届顶峰相见之暑假篇 2024-07-17 On May 22,1859, Arthur Conan Doyle was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. His family life later became an inspiration (灵感) for his work. As a child, his family was quite well off, but his father, Charles, was a life-long alcoholic and spent so much money. Doyle’s mother, Mary, was a well-educated woman who loved to reading. She tried to protect him from the_____1_____ by telling him stories. In a biography about him, Arthur says, “In my early childhood, as far as I can remember anything at all, the vivid stories she told me _____2_____ so clearly that they obscure (隐藏) the real facts of my life.” At the age of 9, Arthur was sent to a boarding school in England for seven years. He cried all the way there and hated it until the day he graduated. However, it was in the school that he realized he too enjoyed _____3_____. He used to make up stories to amuse the younger students. After that, he went to decide to study for a medical degree at university. When Arthur was a third-year medical student, his life changed greatly. He was offered a job as a doctor on a boat called Hope.The boat travelled to the Arctic Circle. This experience awakened Doyle’s _____4_____ of adventure (冒险). It also inspired him to start writing stories.In 1890, his novel, A Study in Scarlet, _____5_____ the famous character of Detective Sherlock Holmes. Later, Doyle went on to write 60 stories about Sherlock Holmes. Till now, there have been more than 200 films featuring (以……为主演) him,and more than 70 _____6_____ have played the part of the detective. 1. A. hunger B. cold C. danger D. pain 2. A. stand out B. show up C. take place D. turn out 3. A. studying B. storytelling C. talking D. reading 4. A. dream B. sense C. plan D. imagination 5. A. enjoyed B. invited C. introduced D. found 6. A. directors B. actors C. doctors D. writers Reading 17 On a farm in England, one piglet is enjoying being different. Cinders is six weeks old and lives on a farm with two hundred other pigs. But she has a strange p_____1_____ ----she is afraid of the mud. Poor Cinders wasn’t able to join her brothers and sisters playing in the fields because she was too s_____2_____. Her owner said,“It was the strangest thing. Cinders just stood at the edge of her sty (猪圈) shaking while the others explored.” But don’t feel too b_____3_____ for Cinders. Her owners had a very clever idea. Cinders now has a very different way to keep her trotters (猪蹄) clean. The name Cinders is s_____4_____ for Cinderella, but instead of glass slippers, she wears green boots. She has a special pair of boots which are the perfect s_____5_____ for her. Cinders' owners run a sausage factory, but her owners say that she is not going to be anyone’s dinner.“She’s more of a p_____6_____ really now, and she's going to live a very long and happy life.”As her owner Andrew says,“This is no o_____7_____. 2024-07-18 Dear Ma’am/Sir, I am writing to let you know about an unhappy experience that I recently had with your airline. Here are the details of the problem. I recently went on holiday to Spain using your airline on 1 April. While I was there, the staff members of your company went on strike (罢工). As a result, many flights were _____1_____, including my flight from Spain back to London. When I called to talk to your representative in Spain about this, I was not provided with any food or accommodation costs, or any information about how to rebook my flight _____2_____ the strike finished. In fact, I was given misleading (误导的) information that I had better rebook a flight as soon as possible. I followed the _____3_____ and rebooked a flight which would depart four days later. The airfare (机票费) was more than double the price. However, the next day, my airfare _____4_____ and I was told that I couldn’t get any refund (退费) or change the flights I’d booked. I am very disappointed at the misleading information and the way I have been treated. I am _____5_____ a refund on my airline ticket. I have attached a copy of my ticket as proof. Please _____6_____ me on 93225008 during working hours or after hours on 0411582359 to discuss this matter further. I would like to have this problem fixed quickly please. Thank you very much for your time. I am looking forward to your reply. Yours sincerely, Diana Jones 1. A. replaced B. rebooked C. delayed D. cancelled 2. A. while B. since C. once D. until 3. A. suggestion B. warning C. invitation D. operation 4. A. disappeared B. dropped C. rose D. sold 5. A. losing B. expecting C. charging D. returning 6. A. contact B. write C. email D. inform B Why do some people seem to be naturally happier than others? Researchers from the University of Edinburgh have known the answer according to their recent study. Nine hundred twins took part in the study and had their happiness levels measured. The result shows that our genes (基因), in fact, control half of the personality traits (特点) that make us happy. And the other half is l_____1_____ with lifestyle, career and relationships. That is to say, individual (个人的) differences in happiness are b_____2_____ on genetic differences between people. “All human beings naturally desire happiness. We have found that happiness is partly rooted in genes,”said Dr Alexander Weiss, the leader of the research. “This study is both a milestone and a new beginning: A milestone because we are now s_____3______ that there is a genetic side of happiness and a new beginning because the happy genes have just been found.” However, the researchers warn that genes are not the whole story. The e_____4_____ also affect our happiness levels. In fact, a great deal of our happiness is d_____5_____ connected to whatever is taking place in our lives. Thus finding the right matters affecting us is the correct thing. To become truly happy, we need to understand our important needs perfectly for if we failed to s_____6_____ our needs, then unhappiness might happen. Besides, doing simple things, such as keeping a journal and writing down three things that we are t_____7_____ for every day, can increase our long-tern happiness. Will you try it tonight? 2024-07-19 Luke Pittard loves his job. So much so that he came back to work after winning 1.3 million pounds on the National Lottery (彩票) 18 months ago. He _____1_____ his job at McDonald’s, and got bored doing nothing. “To be honest, there’s only so much relaxing you can do. But I’m still young, and a bit of hard work never did anyone any_____2_____.” Pittard says. He and wife Emma met working at McDonald’s, years before their windfall (意外之财).After a number of holidays, a big wedding and buying a new house, Pittard got a bit bored. “My workmates all think I’m a bit mad, but I tell them there’s more to life than _____3_____.” His manager is thrilled to have the millionaire back behind the counter. However,his wife doesn’t feel the same way. Emma doesn’t _____4_____ staying at home with their three-year-old daughter, Chloe. And she enjoys her millionaire status. However, she does understand why her husband misses the job. “We both really enjoyed working at McDonald’s and still have good friends there. It was really _____5_____ for us, and something for him to look forward to.” she explained. Luke isn’t the first lottery _____6_____ to go back to work. According to a survey one in three big winners go back to work, and half go back to working full-time. Like Luke, most get bored staying at home. Even a job like flipping burgers at the local McDonald’s can keep a millionaire content. 1. A. lost B. found C. missed D. changed 2. A .wrong B. right C. good D. harm 3. A. fun B. money C. health D. time 4. A. welcome B. enjoy C. accept D. mind 5. A. tiring B. interesting C. familiar D. meaningful 6. A. winner B. worker C. husband D. manager B Some people think that a good friend is someone you never fall out with. I d_____1_____. Let me tell you about one of my closest friends, Alberto. I first got to know him when we were at school. We were soon best friends. We had the same s_____2_____ of humour, and laughed at the same things. But when we were about ten, everything changed. Alberto and I had a(n) a_____3_____ I can’t even remember what it was about now, but it made me see red at the time. We both got angry. I didn’t get in t_____4_____ with him again. About fifteen years later, I met a s_____5_____ on a train. We started talking, and I found we had a lot in common. He had a(n) o_____6_____ about everything, and he was great fun to be around. I asked his name, and he said, “Don’t you remember? It’s me, Alberto!” (He had a beard now, and I didn’t r_____7_____ him.) So now we’re friends again. And I think we get on even better now than when we were children! 2024-07-22 With the development of online shopping, users reviews are becoming more and more important. Given that you can’t actually touch, see, smell or hear the product you’re buying online, these forms of public feedback provide information on the product itself. But how much can you ___1___ online reviews? Sybil Mathews was the victim(受害者) of a fake user review. “I was planning a holiday to Italy. I browsed a holiday website, looking for a hotel. I read three reviews giving ___2___ to this hotel so I decided to book a few nights there. However, when I got there, it was horrible--really dirty, expensive and nothing like the one described on the website.” Barnaby Bicken had a similar experience. “I took some important clients(客户) to a restaurant in Manchester. The restaurant had excellent reviews on a food website. Actually, the service was ___3___ and we were ignored(忽视) most of the time. Later, I wrote a review and wanted to add it to the same site, only to find that the review site owner would ___4___ any ‘bad’ reviews--- just the good ones.” So, how can you recognize a fake user review? Web expert Hilary Saunders has a few tips. “Stay away from things like ‘Go here, it’s great!’ or ‘Buy this! It’s cheap and works!’ Also, watch out for ___5___ in the styles between reviews from people with different user names, especially if those reviews were placed at the same time.” Some companies work hard to manage online customer reviews. They encourage people to report if they see a business offering gifts in exchange for reviews. Then the team will ___6___ the report and takes action against any business caught trying to collect good reviews in this way. 1. A. trust B. follow C. trace D. browse 2. A. answers B. advice C. praise D. opinions 3. A. comfortable B. perfect C. unusual D. awful 4. A. reply to B. not reply to C. accept D. not accept 5. A. information B. mistakes C. similarities D. differences 6. A. revise B. investigate C. introduce D. improve B “Sarada”, “marason” and “sekushii.” Do you understand these words? Probably not, but these English words are commonly used in Japan. Almost all languages adopt(采用) words from each other. In English, we use the French “bon apetit” as a way of wishing people to e_____1_____ their meal, and we use the Italian term “ciao” to say goodbye. However, Japanese do so to an extreme(极端) that is probably unequalled by any other language. They use a lot of English words in their daily life. When writing about fashion, cooking, sports, arts, and when c_____2_____ online, English words sometimes take over. Why do Japanese people use so many English words? Around the 5th century, Japan began to adopt Chinese characters(汉字) by meaning into their language. This happened for many centuries before Japan had any c_____3_____ with the West. Therefore, adopting words has long been a h_____4_____ of the Japanese as much as adopting clothing(kimono from China, suits from the West), religion and technology has been for centuries. After the World War II, the country f_____5_____ a close relationship with the USA, and the American impact(影响) on popular culture in Japan was huge. Interestingly, Japanese changed some English word meanings, for example, a “manshon”(mansion) r_____6_____ to an apartment building rather than a big luxurious house in Japan. On the other hand, there are many English words that are b_____7_____ words from Japanese, too. Maybe you like to eat “sushi” or do a bit of “karate”, and, of course, everyone loves to sing “karaoke”. 1.____________ 2. ____________ 3. ____________ 4. ____________ 5. ____________ 6. ____________ 7. ____________ 2024-07-23 Are your greetings making you sick? Doctors think handshakes spread germ(细菌). Rob Danof DO（这里看不清楚）, a family physician in Philadelphia, ___1___ the healthiness of your hellos. 1. A. picks B. ranks C. collects D. ticks 2. A. space B. time C. speed D. weather 3. A. common B. safe C. unhealthy D. friendly 4. A. breath B. blood C. liquid D. oxygen 5. A. lower B. higher C. faster D. smarter 6. A. happy B. clean C. healthy D. interested B Do Moxie Crime Fighter and Pilot Inspektor sound like video games? Believe it or not, both are children’s names. But who would c_____1_____ their children something like that? The Hollywood celebrities(名人) seem to love giving their children unusual names. Psychologists(心理学家) blame it on the competitiveness among stars. Celebrities take baby naming to a higher l_____2_____. So, what drives someone to name their kid Moxie or Pilot? Shrinks say that stars feel they have to set t_____3_____ apart from normal people. As celebrities, they are used to being adored(崇拜), so they are afraid people won’t see them as special and different if their kids have b_____4_____ names. “They’re expressing their creativity, and they’re also expressing their f_____5_____,” says Dr Stuart Fischoff. “It would be very embarrassing for people to think of them as normal.” But why punish a newborn baby with a crazy name? Because it’s cool, say some. “Everyone I know with an unusual name l_____6_____ it,” says Moxie Crime Fighter’s dad, magician Penn Jillette. “It’s only the losers named Dave or Jim that think having an unusual name is bad.” Some say that celebrities are the “American aristocracy(贵族)”, so giving a baby an unusual name is like a royal t_____7_____, or legacy. 1.____________ 2. ____________ 3. ____________ 4. ____________ 5. ____________ 6. ____________ 7. ____________ 2024-07-24 You’ve probably been to Disneyland or Universal Studios Hollywood. But have you ever heard of Dollywood? Dollywood is a theme park located in the Smoky Mountain in Tennessee, with rides, games, dining, entertainment and more. Families travel from all across the country to enjoy everything the park has to ___1___. However, there is much more to the world-class theme park than meets the eye. Here are some fun facts about Dollywood that might ___2___ you. There is a replica(复制品) of Dolly Parton’s childhood home that sits near the entrance of Dollywood. Though it’s not her actual home. It’s still pretty cool! Visitors can take the time to walk through the two-room home and get a feel for where Dolly ___3___. The home was created by Dolly’s mother and brother. Most of the items on display are original family treasures. Another interesting fact about Dollywood is that you won’t find any recycling bins around the park. This isn’t because the park doesn’t care about the environment, though. It’s quite the ___4___! The area is home to one of the best recycling and composting(施肥) programs in the world. About 70 percent of waste can be composted and recycled, which means Dollywod doesn’t have to separate any of the trash. Would you like to eat a 25-pound apple pie? You can find one at Dollywood! Next time you visit, be sure to ___5___ the Spotlight Bakery. The apple pie is made of 35 apples! All the pies are baked fresh every day. A single slice weighs 3 pounds and can ___6___ about 4 adults, so you’ll have plenty of pie to go around. You can even get the whole pie and take it home. 1. A. include B. give C. serve D. offer 2. A. miss B. please C. guide D. surprise 3. A. dressed up B. grew up C. stayed up D. got up 4. A. opposite B. truth C. difference D. same 5. A. come across B. pass by C. stop by D. leave behind 6. A. attract B. feed C. live D. provide B Look at your hands and you will learn a lot about yourself. According to recent studies, if you’re looking for a(n) a_____1_____ personality test, look no further than your very own hands --- more specifically, your index finger and ring finger. To see what your fingers say about you, now please straighten out your left hand. If your ring finger is longer than your index finger, that means you are charming(迷人的). You are p_____2_____ good at sports, especially running and football. You may also be interested in numbers-based subjects like m_____3_____ and physics. Some might say you can be a bit aggressive(好斗的), but if you know what you want, why don’t you go for it? Your ideal job would be soldier or CEO. If your index finger is longer than your ring finger, that means you are a natural leader. You may be more interested in subjects based on w_____4_____, such as language and literature. In difficult situations, you are confident to g_____5_____ the way and people look to you for the right answers. You would be a politician or teacher. If your ring and index fingers are the same l_____6_____, that means you’re a good communicator. You may find that people always tell you their deepest s_____7_____, even if you don’t know them very well. You’re a balanced person who tends to listen twice and speak once, and people are drawn to that. You make others feel comforted when they need it most. You’re at your best when helping other. Your perfect job would be nurse or social worker. 1.____________ 2. ____________ 3. ____________ 4. ____________ 5. ____________ 6. ____________ 7. ____________ 2024-07-25 Guinness World Records Horse wears suit! Here’s something you’ve probably never seen before. Morestead the chestnut racehorse holds the 1 for first horse in a three-piece suit. Designer Emma Sandhanking created the tweed suit as well as a shirt, tie and cap. Then Morestead made his runway debut（首秀）at a horse-racing festival England famous for its used enough cloth for 10 average-size human suits tweed fashions. To 2 the animal, Sandham-King Somebady give Morestead an award for “Best Dressed.” Big Bike They are going to need an extra-wide bike lane for this bike to make it down the street. Jeff Peeters of Mechelen, Belguim, built the world’s heaviest bike using only recyclable materials. 3 more than 1,900 pounds (slightly more than a cow) the bike took Peeters more than six months to make. To earn the title, Peeters, had to ride the bike half a mile without stopping-on a 4 path, of course this bike’s too big to hand any tight turns! Super-large letter If an “A” is good and an “F” is bad… what about a “T”? Students and teachers from the University of Tennessee gathered to form the world’s largest 5 letter. More than 4,000 people (plus one dog) filled the width of the school’s football field and stood still for five minutes. 6 in the school color of orange, the crowd formed a giant letter “T” for the word “Tennessee”. Talk about school spirit. ( )1. A. name B. title C. job D. value ( )2. A. cover B. hide C. dress D. train ( )3. A. Measuring B. Gaining C. Weighing D. Costing ( )4. A. rough B. muddy C. narrow D. straight ( )5. A. small B. human C. colourful D. curved ( )6. A. Painted B. Dressed C. Hidden D. Found B. I’ve just spent a year as a volunteer in Uganda. And it has made a huge difference to my life. I had lived a very quiet life in England. I had never left the country, never been on a plane even. And suddenly there I was on a plane and l 1 at Entebbe Airport in 40 degrees. I was met by an old priest, and then taken into the bush. It was quite an amazing change-not like anything I had ever e 2 in England. In fact, at the beginning I was very homesick and I just wanted to go back to England, to my friends and family and the life I knew so well. But very quickly I became completely absorbed（吸引）in what I was doing and by what I was able to o 3 . People had so little there, and I was able to contribute something. It completely changed my life. The people I was with didn’t have much money, but their lives were r 4 in other ways-family life was very important. But living in the bush was difficult, we were fifteen miles from the nearest post box and fifteen miles from the nearest road. The village was right on the b 5 of the Nile. I worked as a doctor seeing about sixty people a day in a small village. Obviously the main p 6 was that there were almost no resources. That made the work very difficult. But there were positive（积极的）things too. I made some very c 7 friends during my time in Uganda. 1.____________ 2. ____________ 3. ____________ 4. ____________ 5. ____________ 6. ____________ 7. ____________ 2024-07-26 A It’s hard to believe that a two-week-old seal could survive on its own, especially in the 1 world of the North Atlantic Ocean. But harp seal pups do. How? With fur, fat, and instinct（本能）. When a pregnant（怀孕的）female is 2 to give birth, she comes out of the sea and onto the ice. There, with tens of thousands of other females, she gives birth to a 20-pound pup. A newborn harp seal is skinny. Its warm coat is all that keeps it from 3 . Each hair of its coat is transparent（透明的）, so the 4 can reach the pup’s skin. The seal’s body takes in the sun’s heat and the fur traps that warmth, helping to keep the pup cozy. Newborn seals nurse on milk that’s 10 times 5 in fat than cow’s milk. That helps a pup gain as much as five pounds a day. (You might gain five pounds a year!) This extra 6 is called blubber, a layer of fat that keeps the seals warm. By the time the pup is 12 days old, it weighs about 80 pounds. That’s when its mother knows it’s time to let the pup survive on its own. ( )1. A. burning B. hot C. icy D. quiet ( )2. A. willing B. ready C. lucky D. eager ( )3. A. going hungry B. getting lost C. freezing D. dying ( )4. A. sunlight B. air C. oxygen D. warmth ( )5. A. bigger B. heavier C. brighter D. richer ( )6. A. food B. weight C. part D. skin B. The platypus（鸭嘴兽）is one of the oddest animals on earth. It’s a small animal n_____1_____ to Australia. Unusually, it’s neither a mammal, a bird nor a reptile（爬行动物）. The a_____2_____ length of a platypus is 45 centimeters. For years, scientists couldn’t decide what the strange little creature is because it has something similar to those of the other three animal groups. At last, they have figured out which group the platypus b_____3_____ to. It is a mixture of the three. In some ways, it is like a duck: it lays eggs, it has a duck bill（喙）and webbed feet. The platypus is an e_____4_____ a swimmer. They can dive under water for around 30 seconds to look for food before coming up for air. They close their eyes and ears when under water, so in order to f_____5_____ on worms and insects, they use their sense of electroreception（电感应）and dig up muddy river beds with their bill to detect（发现）the electric fields of their food. The features that the platypus s_____6_____ with reptiles include the snake-like venom（毒液）. The platypus can live more than 12 years in the wild. Snakes, owls and sometimes crocodiles are their naturalpredators（天敌）. Australia is home to some of the strangest animals in the world. Besides the duck-billed platypus, there are also kangaroos with pouches for carrying their babies and the lazy, tree-climbing koala bears. The location of the island means that many animals have evolved differently from those in the other parts of the world as they lived without too much f_____7_____ of predators. 1.____________ 2. ____________ 3. ____________ 4. ____________ 5. ____________ 6. ____________ 7. ____________ 2024-07-29 CHEF WANTED We are looking for a chef to join our team and prepare delicious meals for our customers. Chef responsibilities include studying new recipes, setting up menus and preparing high-quality dishes. You should be able to delegate（分配）tasks to kitchen staff to ensure meals are served in a timely manner. Also, you should 1 any and all sanitation regulations（卫生条例）. If you have experience with advanced cooking techniques（技艺）and non-traditional ingredients, we’d like to meet you. Monitoring food stock（库存）and placing orders are also your responsibility. As well, your job includes checking the 2 of food and discarding（丢弃）out-of-date items. You’ll also need to supervise（监督）the other cooks and assist them when needed. Our chef should take our customers’ 3 very seriously, which means you should be able to slightly modify recipes to meet customers’ needs and requests(e.g. reduce salt.) To keep our menu attractive, you should experiment with recipes and 4 new ingredients regularly. Ultimately（最终）, you’ll be responsible for preparing and 5 a complete menu that delight our guests. Requirements · Proven work experience as a chef or cook · Experience with various kitchen equipment · Advanced knowledge of culinary, baking and pastry techniques · Leadership skills · Ability to remain 6 and undertake various tasks · Excellent time management abilities · Up-to-date knowledge of cooking techniques and recipes · Culinary school diploma（烹饪学校证书）preferred If you are interested, please email us at chefhiring@gourmetclub.com. ( )1. A. be careful with B. be familiar with C. be patient with D. be strict with ( )2. A. freshness B. softness C. weight D. color ( )3. A. action B. expression C. satisfaction D. decision ( )4. A. suppose B. suggest C. support D. survey ( )5. A. describing B. gathering C. building D. delivering ( )6. A. busy B. silent C. excited D. calm B Less or Fewer? Do you know the difference between “less” and “fewer”? A large supermarket chain（连锁超市）in the U.K., Tesco, is having a big problem with it. The sign in q 1 reads “Ten items or less.” It appears above the checkout area. But what’s the problem? According to experts, it’s wrong. They say that “fewer” should be used to describe countable things, such as “bananas,” “oranges” and “items.” “Less,” on the other hand, should be used to describe uncountable things, such as “water,” “rice” and “wine.” The Oxford University Press also got involved, and a 2 , “Less means ‘not as much.’ ‘Fewer’ means ‘ not as many.’” One organization, the Plain English Campaign, is asking Tesco to c 3 its checkout signs. Plain English is an independent group that fights for clearly w 4 public documents（公文）. Plain English asked Tesco to put “ten items or fewer” instead of “ten items or less” on their signs. One of the organization’s spokesmen said, “There is a debate about whether the word on the sign should be ‘less’ or ‘fewer’. The debate about which is right has been going on for years now, and I still don’t think we know if ‘less’ or ‘fewer' is c____5____” Plain English tried to offer another more agreeable way of expressing the idea.Their spokesman said, “Say up to ten items’ makes it easier to understand and avoids any debate. Or so they thought. Some people began t___6_____ that “up to ten items” means “ten items and no more” or “nine items or fewer.” These grammar corrections have provided endless debate between the two s____7____. Who knew checking on the supermarket could be so grammatical（和语法有关的）？ 2024-07-30 Catori, an Indian carpenter I once hired to help me restore my old farmhouse, had just finished a difficult and hard first day on the job. A flat tire on his lorry made him ____1_____ an hour of work, his electric saw packed in, a now his ancient pick up truck refused to start. While I drove him home, Catori sat in stony, thoughtful____2_____. On arriving his home, Catori, to show his Indian politeness, invited me in to meet his family. As we walked toward the front door, he____3____ briefly at a small tree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands. When opening the door to his home, he underwent an amazing transformation. He now wore warm smiles on his face and he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss. After a cup of tea, he walked me to my car. We passed the tree and my ____4____ got the better of me. I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier. "Oh, that's my trouble tree” Catori replied. “I know I can't help having troubles on the job, but one thing is for sure:Troubles don’t ____5_____ in the house with my wife and children. So I just hang them on the tree every night when I come home. Then in the morning I pick them up again. I looked at Catori, who now wore a smile. “The____6_____ thing is,” he continued, “when I come out in the morning to pick them up, there aren't nearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before." 1. A. gain B. take C. do D. lose 2. A. opinion B. detail C. tree D. silence 3. A. paused B. laughed C. threw D. pulled 4. A. ability B. reality C. curiosity D. popularity 5. A. prepare B. compare C. stay D. belong 6. A. sad B. funny C. usual D. only B Children Are Playing Less With Each Other Nowadays, children play less with each other and this has an impact on their development. What are the reasons for this? Does it have a good or bad effect on children? In my opinion, there are quite a few possible reasons behind this. Many c____1_____ this phenomenon to have a negative（负面的）effect on children. However, in my understanding, it has a number of benefits. In order to justify（证明..有理）my point of view，I would like to state that technology has played an important role in keeping children busy at their home. For instance, children in Indian cities spend a huge amount of time surfing the internet and playing PlayStation games. The games i_____2_____ children's intellectual（智力的）skills. Besides this, the highly sophisticated（复杂的）PlayStation games encourage them to do more physical movements, thereby keeping them physically fit. Therefore, it is clear that technology is one reason why children spend less time with each other. Furthermore, it is believed that the world now is not a safe place for anyone. In today's busy world, parents have much less, or sometimes, no time to keep an eye on their kids. Take India for instance. Most parents are busy working and they always tell their children not to go out to meet with their friends. That's because parents know that, most of the time, their children learn some bad h_____3_____ from their peers. Apart from this, parents feel insecure （不安全的）about any bad things that might happen to their kids, such as them being kidnapped（绑架），as these events are c____4_______ in India. So, it is clear that parents are another reason for their children’s lack of playmates. However, some people argue that children playing a____5______ can lead to many negative results, such as a lack of interaction（互动)with peers and other people. However, I believe children can f____6_____ this gap by interacting with each other through social networking websites（社交网站）. Keeping in mind all of the above, I would like to c____7_____ that it is not a big problem that children are playing less with each other. The world has plenty of resources to help children develop physically as well as intellectually, even when they are staying at home, away from the dangers of the outside world. 2024-07-31 Less Salt, Please! Hamburgers, French fries, potato chips, popcorn and pizza. There is no denying these foods are tasty. But often, it's the added salt that makes them so appealing（吸引人的）. One___1______：U.S. kids are eating way too much salty food. Table salt is about 40% sodium（钠）. Our bodies need some sodium to work properly. But too much of it is not healthy. The salt shaker is to blame for just 11%of the sodium kids take in. The rest has been added to food before it even reaches the table. A study looked at the eating habits of 2,142 children between the ages of six and18. It found that their average sodium intake was 3,256 milligrams per day. That equals nearly1-1/2 teaspoons each day, which is 50% more than current guidelines（指导方针）___2_______. Zerleen Quader is the study's lead author. “Eating too much sodium now can set kids up for health problems later,"she says. Scientists discovered that pizza and Mexican food topped the list of sodium sources in kids' diets. More than half the sodium they took in came from store-bought food. The sodium wasn't _____3_____ to one meal or snack. It was sprinkled(撒)throughout kids' diets. Much of the sodium that kids eat comes from processed foods. But potato chips and other salty snacks aren't the only culprits（罪魁祸首）.There are sneaky（暗中的）sodium sources, like bread and cold cuts（冷盘）. All this added salt can raise blood pressure and, with it, the risk of a heart attack and other health problems. Today, one in nine children has raised blood pressure. There’s ____4______ news, though. Lowering salt intake can lower blood pressure. That, of course, is easier said than done. The more you eat salty foods, the more you_____5_____ a taste for them. The key to changing your diet is to start small. Small changes in sodium in foods are not usually _____6_____ Quader says. Eventually, she adds , the effort will reset a kid's taste buds so the salt cravings（望）stop. 1. A . question B. belief C. result D. opinion 2. A. prepared B. discussed C. suggested D. edited 3. A. passed B. sent C. connected D. limited 4. A. strange B. no C. bad D. good 5. A. save B. develop C. search D. provide 6. A. offered B. repeated C. noticed D. required Sasha Obama Graduates From High School Sasha Obama has graduated from high school! The18-year-old daughter of former U.S.President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama graduated from Sidwell Friends School on Sunday, June 9, in Washington, D.C. Her famous family was there to s____1______ her. Barack, Michelle and their older daughter, Malia, 20, were all at the ceremony. Sasha wore a simple whit dress and her hair down to her shoulders, as seen in a class photo posted on Sidwell's Facebook page. The Obamas a_____2_____ at Sasha’s graduation came just weeks after Michelle and Malia helped send Sasha o to senior prom（毕业生舞会）. Also at the Sidwell g____3_____over the weekend was Obama’s former vice president, Joe Biden. Biden a___4______ the ceremony because his granddaughter, Maisy, graduated alongside Sasha. Biden shared on his Instagram a photo of himself smiling alongside Maisy and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden. Jill and I were so excited to be there today to watch our amazing granddaughter Maisy graduate from high school,” he wrote under the photo. “Maisy, you make us so proud and we can’t wait to seew hat you do n____5______with your talent, dedication and kindness. The future is yours, and we will always be right b____6_____ you. Jill also shared a photo on her own Instagram. When I'm around my grandchildren, I remember how wonderful life can be... Congrats Maisy ! She wrote “ We are so proud and f___7______ with joy to see you graduate today." 2024-08-01 Multitasking:Good or Bad? As you are reading this article, are you listening to music or the radio? Eating a sandwich? Thinking about work? If you’re doing two or more things_____1_____, then you are multitasking. But i that always good? You might think that multitasking saves time. For a start, you get to kill two birds with one stone. However, scientists are finding that multitasking can put us under a lot of stress, and actual make us less efficient. Researchers are now trying to_____2_____ how the brain switches attention from one subject to another. Although doing many things at the same time can be away of making tasks more fun and energizing（激活身心机能的），“you have to keep in mind that you do this at the cost of_____3_____ ”：psychiatrist（精神病专家）and author Edward M. Hallowell. However, there are examples in which multitasking can be____4______. In some cases, listening to music while working makes some people feel more creative because they are using different cognitive functions. People can do a couple of things at the same time if they are routine tasks. But once they_____5____ more cognitive processes, the brain has “a serious bottleneck," Hallowell said. Today's technology requires us to do more and more things in a shorter period of time. I t is a very different world from several decades ago, when a desk worker had a typewriter, a phone and Maybe a co-worker who visited the office. In the past, many people used telephones with cords（电线），which were stationary（固定的）. They required you to sit down, put your feet up and chat--and did not _____6_____ multitasking. Now, smartphones and PDAs give us more distractions. Multitasking can make things more exciting, but be careful. As Hallowell added. Multitasking gives the illusion（幻觉）that we’re achieving things at the same time, but we're really not. It's lil playing tennis with hree balls." （ ）1. A. at all B. at once C. at first D. at least （ ）2. A. figure out B. take out C. bring out D. check out （ ）3. A. focus B. health C. energy D. time （ ）4. careful B. helpful C. harmful D. stressful （ ）5. A. achieve B. select C. invent D.demand （ ）6. A. stand for B. allow for C. pay for D. care for B Claude Monet Claude Monet (1840-1926) was one of the founders of the French Impressionist school(法国印象主义流派). In fact, the term itself was taken from the t_____1_____of one of his works-Impressionist Sunrise. His style focused on (注重) the “impression” of color and shape where light was the subject of the painting rather than the object being painted. Monet was born in Paris to a singer mother and a grocer (食品杂货商) father who wanted him to get into the family b_____2_____. He attended the Le Havre secondary school of the arts and would s_____3_____his drawings to make extra pocket money. After he left the army because of illness, Monet returned to Paris and took art lessons. There he began to paint the effects of light in the open with broken color and rapid brushstrokes(笔触). When the Franco-Prussian War broke out in Europe, Monet moved to England with his family. He was always drawn to painting outside and there he began to experiment with the effect of light on color and how perspective (透视画法) blurred (使变得模糊) shapes seen at a d_____4_____. Monet used several techniques (技巧) which were distinguishing features (明显的特征) of his work. He used fast brushstrokes in order to depict light. He experimented with color, exploring the way objects would look depending on the time of day, using darker colors to highlight (突出) the lighter ones. His most famous works, the Water Lilies paintings, were produced later in his life and are an e_____5_____of his study of light and the influence it had on his choice of color while painting. The word “impressionist” was used to make f_____6_____ of Claude Monet's work, but the artist used the name much to his benefit. Now, Monet’s works of art have broken r_____7_____ at auction houses (拍卖行). In the past May, one painting from this French Impressionist master's “Meules (Haystacks)” series fetched $110.7 million in New York. It was the first time an Impressionist painting was auctioned for more than $100 million. 2024-08-02 Do You Prefer to Eat at Restaurants? When it comes to eating, people are usually in two different minds. Some prefer to eat at a restaurant while others would rather prepare and have their meals at home. Both choices have their own advantages and disadvantages. First of all, not having to cook is an obvious advantage of dining at restaurants over having home-cooked meals. Secondly, restaurants usually provide a much wider range of choices____1_____ the number of dishes an average person can prepare at home. Such a wider menu may get people to try out different dishes, which can't be achieved easily otherwise. Moreover, you don't need to do the wash-up after you are done eating when dining at restaurants. Nevertheless, such advantages come at a cost. Eating at restaurants too often costs a lot of money. Therefore, it is not a(n)____2_____ decision for most people. On the contrary, cooking your own meals at home is cheaper. Of course, this requires more time and effort. You need to buy and cook the ingredients on your own and ____3_____ afterwards, but it has some advantages. For instance, home cooking allows people to prepare food that suits (适合) their own____4_____ and is a way of improving their cooking skills. Furthermore, you can cook as much as you want and eat to your heart's content. Personally, I enjoy cooking at home, especially when I'm cooking for someone else other than ____5_____ . What’s more, I think many restaurants’ food portions (饭菜的一份) are not enough for a____6_____, healthy person. Because of this, even though there may be some occasions where a restaurant meal would be preferable, I'd rather prepare and eat my own meals at home. （ ）1. A. turned to B. compared to C. pointed to D. reduced to （ ）2. A. wise B. hard C. important D. final （ ）3. A. dress up B. clean up C. stand up D. get up （ ）4. A. abilities B. feelings C. minds D.tastes （ ）5. A. one B. everyone C. myself D. themselves （ ）6. A. busy B. hungry C. happy D. heavy B A New Museum A new museum gives visitors a fresh look at one of America's most important monuments (纪念碑). It's the Statue of Liberty Museum. It opened to the public on May 16. The museum is l_____1_____on Liberty Island. That's off the southern tip of Manhattan, in New York City. The new museum covers 26,000 square feet. That's about half the size of a football field. It replaces the previous (先前的) museum, which was in the statue's pedestal (底座). This will a_____2_____for more visitors than ever before. Each year, more than 4 million people visit Liberty Island. But only about 20 percent were able to enter the old museum. “We looked at this small museum and thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be wonderful to move it out to a place where more people could e_____3_____it?” John Piltzecker said. He is the superintendent (主管) the Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island. Admission (门票费) to the new museum is free with the price of a ticket to Liberty Island. Inside, visitors can watch a film about Lady Liberty's creation. They can also see artifacts (手工艺品), photos, and even the statue's original (最初的), 3,600-pound torch. That torch was removed in 1984 because of water d_____4_____. The $100-million project took 26 months to c_____5_____. It was privately funded (赞助). Those behind it hope that visitors will l_____6_____with a new appreciation for the world-famous structure. “Everywhere you go in the world, anywhere you see something about the United States, you’re the Statue of Liberty,” said Stephen Briganti. He is president and CEO of the Statue of Liberty-Ell Island Foundation. The Statue of Liberty was a g_____7_____ from France to the United States. The American public got its first look at Lady Liberty in 1886. 2024-08-05 Five Days of Diwali Diwali is an important festival for Hindus around the world. The festival gets its name from row(avali) of clay lamps (deepa) that Indians light outside their homes to symbolize (象征) the in light that _____1_____ spiritual (精神上的) darkness. This festival is as important to Hindus as the Christmas holiday is to Christians. Diwali is celebrated for different _____2_____ in different parts of India. In northern India, people celebrate the story of King Rama’s return to Ayodhya after he had beaten Ravana by lighting rows of clay lamps. Southern India celebrates it as the day that Lord Krishna defeated the demon Narakasura. In western India, the festival marks the day that Lord Vishnu sent the demon King Bali to the nether world (阴间). Diwali celebrations go on for five days and each day has its own special _____3_____. Day One: People clean their homes and shop for gold or kitchen utensils (器具) to help bring good fortune. Day Two: People _____4_____ their homes with clay lamps and create design patterns called rang on the floor using colored powders or sand. Day Three: On the main day of the festival, families gather together for Lakshmi puja, a pray to Goddess Lakshmi, followed by mouth-watering feasts and fireworks. Day Four: This is the first day of the new year, when friends and relatives visit with gifts and their best _____5_____ for the season. Day Five：Brothers visit their married sisters, who welcome them with love and a big meal. Hindus interpret (解读) the Diwali story based upon where they live. But there’s one_____6_____ theme no matter where people are celebrating it: the victory of good over evil. （ ）1. A. leads them to B. protects them from C. helps them with D. teaches them about （ ）2. A. opinions B.ways C. reasons D. suggestions （ ）3. A. price B. independence C. service D. importance （ ）4. A. buy B.move C.decorate D.choose （ ）5. A. performances B.solutions C. inventions D.wishes （ ）6. A. other B.common C. ordinary D.normal B The Christmas Cat As a child, like most children, I always wanted a kitten. My mom would never hint at getting me one. But if I asked her, “Mom, can I have a kitten?” it would be f_____1_____ up with typical “Mom Speak”: “Are you r_____2_____ to handle the responsibility?” Of course, the answer was always “I am.” It was Christmas Eye in 1992. My mom was out of the house, but it did not seem odd to me-like any other day, errands (差事) need to be completed. It was about 11:30 in the morning, and my mom came in from the front door of the house c_____3_____ cardboard box. “Allison, come here,” she said as I curiously (好奇地) made my way over. She put the box on the ground, and I saw this little black and white paw stick out of the box. What was my reaction? Joy? Elation? Excitement that my wish was finally coming true? N_____4_____ of the above. “I CAN’T HANDLE THE RESPONSIBILITYI” Though the s____5____ hit me like a ton of bricks, I had Kevin (the name of my cat) for 17 years. He died after a good, hearty life on August 30, 2009----a date I can’t f____6____. I was, of course, sad at the time, but also so happy that I had had him in my life. My baby Kevin was the best Christmas p____7____ I’ve ever reccived: He brought me pure joy. Every Christmas, I remember him fondly with a big smile on my face. 2024-08-06 Sharks Eat Plants, Too! It’s a well-known fact across the world that sharks only eat meat. Movies and stories have been created based on this fact. But now, scientists from the University of California, Irvine, have discovered a type of shark that actually ____1____eating plants. Bonnethead sharks live in the shallow coastal waters of North, Central and South America.Their habitat (栖息地) is filled with seagrass. When scientists first began to study bonnethead sharks, they noiced that the sharks ate an unusual amount of seagrass. At first, they thought that it was probably____2____. The scientists figured the seagrass got in the way while the sharks were searching for their prey (猎物) like squid and fish. But the more the scientists observed the sharks,the more they realized they had the wrong idea. To find out the truth, the scientists____3____five bonnethead sharks, as well as samples(样本)of seagrass to grow in their lab. First, the sharks were fed a diet of 10 percent squid and 90 percent seagrass for three weks. All of the sharks gained ____4____. Later tests proved that seagrass was a mainsource of the sharks’ diet. The scientists were shocked by these____5____.They have no idea when bonnethead sharks began eating seagrass, as all evidence(证据)appears to suggest that their ancestors(祖先)were strict meat-eaters. Everyone is now left wondering if there are other plant-eating sharks roaming around the ocean elsewhere ---and according to scientists’ findings, there most likely could be. The____6____poses a lot of new questions and opens the door for new research on bonnethead sharks, their diets and the way these diets affect the way they live. 1. A.suffers B.prefers C.hates D.tries 2. A.by comparison B.by mistake C.by birth D.by accident 3. A.collected B.delivered C.allowed D.welcomed 4. A.experience B.strength C.weight D.attention 5. A.connections B.conclusions C.conveniences D.corrections 6. A.invention B.idea C.discovery D.suggestion B How to Write an Amazing Ending A good story needs to be strong from the first line through the final page.It’s all too easy to start strong with a great hook and an interesting set of characters,but then lose momentum (势头) along the way and stop short at the end.This can be hard for young w____1____. Here’s a few tips on how to write an amazing ending. Read and discuss great literature Read more great literary works.You can ask your friends to read the s____2____ book as you.When you finish abook,talk about the ending.What makes it a good or bad ending?Share with friends the r____3____ you like or dislike the ending of the book. Another great exercise that you can do is examine the first and last lines in stories.Talk with your friends about the c____4____ language that the author uses to tie them together,and how you can incorporate (包含) that into your own stories. Make an outline before starting the writing p____5____ It won’t be as difficult to write the ending of the story if you have a good idea of how it will be before you get there.So write down your ideas and o____6____ them into an outline for your story. Think about making readers feel something When readers get sucked into the l____7____ of the characters, they care about what happens at end of the story.They want to know whether everything works out and how it happens.So alway think about this:What kind of words can you use to make your ending have an emotional impact（影响)? 2024-08-07 The Real Way McDonald’s Makes Money McDonald’s may serve billions and billions of customers,but most of their profits(利润) are made from food sales. McDonald’s sells a lot of food.We’re talking about enough food to serve more than 70 million people every day,with more than 75 burgers sold every second. That shouldn’t be too____1____. After all,McDonald’s is one of the largest fast-food chains in world. But their____2____actually isn’t what earns multi-billion-dollar profits for the fast-food giant. The real best-seller?Real estate(房地产). There are more than 36,000 McDonald’s locations worldwide,but only about 5 percent of them are company-owned.____3____are franchised out(授予或授予特许经营权),meaning they’re run by individuals who McDonald’s has contracted(与……订立合同)to operate them.In those situation the company only spends money on the real estate of that location.The franchisee is____4____for the costs of running the restaurant while also paying McDonald’s for rent (which adds up to an average of 10.7 percent of their sales),a $45,000 franchisee fee,and a monthly service fee equal to 20 percent of gross sales(总营业额), Business Insider reports. “We are basically not in the food business,” former McDonald’s CFO(麦当劳前首席财务官) Harry J.Sonneborn told investors. “We are in the real estate business.The only reason we sell 15cent hamburgers is that they are the greatest producer of revenue(收益)from which our tenants (租客)can pay us rent.” Being able to hand off the costs of running the restaurants is a(n)____5____to McDonald’s success. In 2014, the company made $27.4 billion in revenue,with $9.2 billion coming from franchised locations and $18.2 from company-owned locations. But if you consider the costs of running those locations, you will find that McDonald’s____6____only 16 percent of the revenue for locations it owned directly,compared to the 82 percent of the franchised stores. So while you may spend money at McDonald’s on a Big Mac and fries, McDonald’s is spending money on real estate-and they’re loving it! 1. A.interesting B.surprising C.boring D.frightening 2. A.menu B.price C.bill D.list 3. A.The best B.The rest C.The first D. the last 4. A. perfect B.ready C.responsible D.thankful 5. A.addition B.answer C.solution D.key 6. A.provided B.stored C.spent D.kept B Not All Knowledge Is gained From Books We gain our knowledge about the world and our life from two sources(来源): experiences and books. These two sources are both important. But which of them is more important? Knowledge from books f________a very important part of our knowledge structure. In school and colleges, we learn knowledge which is very impotant to our future career. We learn knowledge from books in order to make our contributions(贡献)to this society in the future. A student learns mathematical equations(等式)and other scientific knowledge and becomes a scientist or e________. We would be ignorant(无知的)without learning at least some knowledge from books.Moreover,we acquire knowledge about life and the world by reading books, magazines and n________. This is also very important as we cannot experience everything all by ourselves. Therefore, books are a very important source of knowledge. On the other hand,we can’t learn everything from books. “Experience is the best teacher” is an old s________, but I agree with it. The most important,and sometimes the hardest lessons we learn in life come from our participation in real-life s________. Without dealing with real problems in the real world,experience is impossible to get. For example, we learn how to get along with others or how to have self-respect from our experiences, not from books. We cannot learn emotional f________, such as love and care, through books; they come from our real-life experiences. We may spend a huge amount of our time in our teens at school learning from books, but knowledge we get from our experiences will be more and more important as we grow older. Needless to say, both learning sources, books and experiences, are very important to us. But in my opinion,the knowledge we get from experiences is more important because without it, it would be impossible to get a real u________of things from books. Without the knowledge we get from experiences, we will have no idea how to apply what we have learned to real-life problems. 2024-08-08 Showing Guests Around the Gym Good morning,everyone.My name is Bill.Today I’ll show you around the gym. I’m the main sports trainer here,but we have a team of four specialists(专业人员). We are always around to help you with exercise programmes and to give you____1____on life style and diet.We strongly recommend(推荐) that you talk to one of us as soon as you____2____and set up your personalized training programme. So, through here we have the main gym. As you can see, it’s very big and we have lots of brand-new machines. You can do everything here, running, cycling, rowing...you name it. Although we have a lot of clients (客户), it’s very ______3_____ to have to wait for a machine. Over there is the area for weight-training. If you want a closer look at the machines, you can come back later. Oh, ______4_____ you can only come in here with trainers (运动鞋) on. No outdoor shoes, please. OK, through here we have the swimming pool. It’s great, isn’t it? We’re very proud of it. You can use it ______5_____ without booking it, but there are certain times of the day when we have swimming classes. There is always a lifeguard who will also offer informal swimming tips. OK,over there you have the changing rooms and lockers, and on the right are the bathrooms and showers. We have our own shop here. You can buy sportswear and sports drinks of our own brand in it. Right, I can see you're impressed. However, I should ______6_____ you that we are slightly more expensive than other gyms in the area-but we offer much better services and a wider range of activities. Here’s a brochure with the timetables of the extra classes that we offer, such as boxing and taekwondo. OK, so have look at the brochure. Then, you can speak to one of the secretaries at the reception desk about the best combination of activities for you. 1. A. talks B. directions C. thought D. advice 2. A. put up B. sign up C. sit up D. take up 3. A. unhappy B. unable C. unusual D. unreal 4. A. by the way B. in short C. in other words D. generally speaking 5. A. all the time B. from time to time C. most of the time D. at the same time 6. A. warn B. order C. beg D. promise An Octopus in Trouble Once upon a time, there was an octopus (章鱼). He nearly always went about on his own. Although he wanted to have lots of friends, he was too shy and q_____1_____. One day, the octopus was trying to catch a very slippery oyster (牡蛎). Before he knew it, he had tied himself into one huge knot (结), and he couldn't move. He tried with all his s_____2_____ to get free, but it was no use. In the end, he had to ask for help from the passing fish. One very kind little fish offered to help. The octopus felt happy when he was finally set free, but he was too shy to talk to the fish to make friends with him. He simply t_____3_____ the fish and quickly swam off. A couple of days later, the octopus was resting between some rocks, when he noticed that everyone around was hurriedly swimming past. He saw a huge fish coming over to feed in that ares The octopus quickly hid. Then, he saw that the huge fish was chasing a small fish. It was the kind little fish who had untied him! That little fish really needed urgent help, but the big fish was so dangerous-looking that no one dared to go n_____4_____. The octopus felt that he had to do whatever he could to come to the little fish’s aid. Without hesitating, he shot out from the rocks, like a ray. He put himself right in the path of the giant fish. Before the giant fish could do anything about it, the octopus had shot out the biggest jet of ink of his life. He grabbed the little fish and swam off back to hide in the rocks. Everything happened so fast that the big fish had no time to r_____5_____. However, he soon recovered from the s_____6_____. He began looking for the octopus and the little fish. Now he really wanted to gobble them down! But soon, he began to feel a terrible itch (痒). It turned out that the octopus’ dark ink had cause him to have terrible allergies (过敏)！ So the big fish swam away, itching all over. As soon as he was gone, all the fish that had been hiding came and c_____7_____ the octopus for being so brave. Then the little fish told them how he had helped the octopus a few days earlier. He had never thought that the octopus would do something so dangerous for him. Hearing this, the other fish discovered how nice the shy octopus was. They all wanted to make friends with such a brave and kind octopus. 2024-08-09 Nina is interested in studying English in the U.K. She saw an advertisement in an international magazine. Then, she wrote an email to Jane Black, asking for more information. Davison School of English · Two-week courses for all levels · Highly qualified (合格的), experienced teachers study · Reasonable prices · Accommodations(食宿) with host families · A wide range of $$