People living in the country enjoy several advantages that people living in the city cannot enjoy.

They are in close contact (接触) with nature. They make friends with trees and stones. They breathe fresh air. They fight with strong winds. They listen to the song of birds. This contact with nature is good for health. There are many diseases that are common in the city, but are not to be found in the country, For example, near---sightedness is almost unknown to country people. Because of the absence of cars, one can walk more freely in the country than in the city. There are no rules of the road nor traffic signs to obey. People living in the country can easily get fresh vegetables, fresh fruit and fresh milk, and they get them at lower prices than in the city. Country life is economical (节俭的) in other ways, too. There are practically no temptations to waste money.

Country people are mostly honest. They say what they mean, and make and keep promises with sincerity (诚意). They do not put on air (摆架子). They do not pretend to have those ridiculous (荒谬的) manners which are necessary in what we call polite society.

1.What is probably more expensive in the country than in the city?

A. Vegetables.

B. Beer.

C. Milk.

D. Fruit.

2.What is NOT true of country life?

A. The traffic accident rate is very high in the country.

B. Living in the country saves one a lot of money.

C. Country people enjoy better health than the city people.

D. Country people are honest.

3.Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

A. People living in the country enjoy no advantages.

B. People living in the city are in close contact with nature.

C. People living in the country suffer from more diseases than those living in the city.

4.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A. The Disadvantages of Living in the Country.

B. The Expenses of Living in the Country.

C. Country Life.

D. Healthy Country People.

When I was a boy we had several gardens around our old house. The largest one of all was used just for __ potatoes. I can still remember those potato __ days. The whole __ helped.

__ my Dad had tilled(耕地)the soil, my Mom, brothers, and I went to work. It was my job to __ the little seed potatoes in the rows while my Mom dropped __ of fertilizer (肥料)beside them. My brothers then covered them all __ the freshly turned earth.

For months afterward I would __ over at the garden while I played outside and wonder what was going on underneath the ground. When the harvest time came I was __ at the huge size of the potatoes my Dad pulled out of the soil.

Those little seedlings had grown into sweet food. They would be __ meal after meal of baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, fried potatoes, and my __ favorite: potatoes cooked in spaghetti sauce.

They would __ the entire family well fed throughout the whole year. It __ was a miracle to be held.

Thinking back to those special times makes me wonder how many other __ I have planted in tills life that have grown ___in the hearts and minds of others.

How many times has God used some little thing that I said __ did to grow something beautiful? How many __ has Heaven used these little seedlings to __ another's soul with sweet food?

I hope then you always __ the garden around you with care. I hope that you plant only goodness, peace, and___ in the lives of everyone you help. I hope that everyday you help miracles to grow.

1.A. selling B. growing C. cooking D. cutting

2.A. planted B. planting C. being planted D. to plant

3.A. committee B. group C. family D. class

4.A. Before B. Since C. Until D. After

5.A. drop B. throw C. pull D. drive

6.A. boatfuls B. housefuls C. handfuls D. mouthfuls

7.A. at B. with C. by D. on

8.A. see B. notice C. glance D. glare

9.A. encouraged B. annoyed C. tired D. amazed

10.A. run into B. broken into C. looked into D. turned into

11.A. personal B. practical C. pure D. powerful

12.A. know B. knock C. keep D. kick

13.A. truly B. bitterly C. frequently D. conveniently

14.A. rows B. gardens C. seeds D. potatoes

15.A. unmade B. unseen C. unprotected D. untouched

16.A. and B. or C. so D. For

17.A. gardens B. rows C. days D. times

18.A. provide B. shut C. approach D. view

19.A. promote B. take C. close D. tend

20.A. love B. hate C. anger D. sadness

Singapore's schools have become global role models with high results in international tests.But now they want to move,beyond this—towards something that encourages creativity and what they term "holistic(全面的)education".

Minister of Education,Heng Swee Keat,says this is "less about content knowledge",but "more about how to process information".He describes this challenge of innovating(创新)as being about to "tell truth from untruth,connect seemingly different things,and create knowledge even as the situation changes".

This approach aims to prepare today's students for the demands of the next 20 years.It means that schools are under more pressure,and will be given more freedom,to come up with creative ways to teach students.So instead of the traditional impressions of high-pressure Asian schools,with rows of heads buried in books,they are trying different approaches to learning.

To put this into practice,on a sunny April morning,80 students from one of Singapore's top schools were traveling outdoors.The nine to ten-year-old from Rosyth School were on a "learning journey" in a park,with science topics and values such as caring for the environment.

"We are conducting a biopsy(活组织检查)to find out why a bee,a fish,a bird or a plant died strangely,"said one student."Is it because of human actions?"

They photographed "evidence" on smart phones and digital cameras,getting facts on plants and animal species. "They can really learn through hands-on experience and putting things into action,"said moral education teacher, Joslyn Huang.

1.What are Singapore's schools famous for according to the passage?

A. Test results. B. Strict management.

C. Teaching methods. D. Learning environment.

2.What does Singapore's "holistic education" lay emphasis on?

A. Students' moral behavior. B. Students' creative ability.

C. Students' content knowledge. D. Students' hands-on experience.

3.Why did the 80 students from Rosyth School conduct a biopsy?

A. To improve the environment.

B. To protect animals and plants.

C. To study the relationship between human actions and some animals' death.

D. To find out the relationship between human behaviors and climate changes.

4.How did the author tell us about a different way of learning in Singapore's schools?

A. By giving examples. B. By making comparisons.

C. By listing figures. D. By analyzing cause and effect.

French writer Frantz Fanon once said: “To speak a language is to take on a world, a culture.” Since the world changes every day, so does our language.

More than 300 new words and phrases have recently made it into the online Oxford Dictionary, and in one way or another they are all reflections of today’s changing world.

After a year that was politically unstable, it’s not hard to understand the fact that people’s political views are one of the main drives of our expanding vocabulary. One example is “clicktivism”, a compound of “click” and “activism”. It refers to “armchair activists” — people who support a political or social cause, but only show their support from behind a computer or smartphone. And “otherize” is a verb for “other” that means to alienate (使疏远) people who are different from ourselves — whether that be different skin color, religious belief or sexuality.

Lifestyle is also changing our language. For example, “fitspiration” — a compound of fit and inspiration — refers to a person or thing that encourages one to exercise and stay fit and healthy.

The phrase “climate refugee” — someone who is forced to leave their home due to climate change — reflects people’s concern for the environment.

According to Stevenson, social media was the main source for the new expressions. “People feel much freer to coin their own words these days,” he said.

But still, not all newly-invented words get the chance to make their way into a mainstream (主流的) dictionary. If you want to create your own hit words, Angus Stevenson, Oxford Dictionaries head of content development, suggests that you should not only make sure that they are expressive (有表现力的) and meaningful, but also have an attractive sound so that people will enjoy saying them out loud.

1.What is the article mainly about?

A. Some new word that got included into the online Oxford Dictionary.

B. The application of new words and phrases.

C. How a language mirrors the changing world.

D. The impact of social media on our language.

2.The underlined word “coin” in the second-to-last paragraph probably means ________.

A. use B. record

C. change D. create

3.How is the article mainly developed?

A. By giving examples. B. By making comparisons.

C. By following a timeline. D. By presenting research findings.

4.According to Stevenson, to make the words you invent popular, they should ________.

A. be easy to remember B. have unique meanings

C. reflect the changing world D. be meaningful, expressive and catchy

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