The Maryland Center for History and Culture(MCHC) is currently hosting “The Jim Henson Exhibition: Imagination Unlimited”. The exhibition spotlights Henson’s unique contributions to children’s education, including his creation of the Muppets (布偶).
Born in 1936 in Mississippi, Henson grew up in Maryland. His creative talents were evident when he was a student at high school. He loved cartooning and creating sets for school theater productions. While a freshman at university, Henson made puppets for a local TV station. The station’s producers were so impressed that they asked him to produce his own puppet show. Called Sam and Friends, the program started in 1955. Viewers loved Henson’s playful characters, including an early version of Kermit the Frog.
While at university, Henson majored in home economics. At the time, it was the only major that offered classes in sewing and textiles (纺织品).Henson not only honed his creative skills at university, but he was also good at marketing and business. “He was an entrepreneur who happened to get into puppetry, ” said Deborah Wood, MCHC’s learning manager.
In 1959, Henson married Jane Nebel, whom be had met at university. The couple established Muppets Inc. which later became the Jim Henson Company. It was there that Focus Bert, Ernie, Miss Piggy, and other Muppets were created for Sesame Street, a popular children’s television program.Generations of children around the world have grown up watching and laming from the Muppets.
Henson, who died in 1990, created not just the Muppets, but also films, TV commercials, variety shows, and more. The exhibition shows every aspect of his career. This includes some lesser-known works, including The Cube, a short experimental film that was nominated (提名) for an Academy Award.
Visitors also get a chance to appreciate Henson’s creative process and inventiveness through hands-on displays. They can even make their own Muppets. “For me, I think the really powerful message of this exhibition is the fact that it covers Henson’s whole life and his whole career, ” said Chloe Green, public programs manager at the MCHC.
1. What’s paragraph 2 mainly about?| A．An interesting exhibition about Henson. | B．Viewers’attitude to Henson’s works. |
| C．Henson’s exceptional talents in creation. | D．Characters in Henson’s famous works. |
| A．Changed. | B．Improved. | C．Found. | D．Shared. |
| A．It was first played in 1955. | B．It was a popular radio program. |
| C．It was targeted at children. | D．It was an early version of Kermit the Frog. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Opposed. | C．Doubtful. | D．Indifferent. |
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【推荐1】Despite Kyle Tianshi being only a 15-year-old US high schooler, he has published five sci-fi novels. His fifth book Eventide was released in July. However, this may not be his most impressive achievement as Kyle just received the “Hero Award”, a $20, 000 grand prize. It is the top honor in the California Youth Sustainability Awards. The competition aims to encourage and support young community leaders who are making a difference for sustainability in their communities by taking action for the planet.
Kyle, a sophomore from the Cambridge School in the US, received the honor for his portable invention called NEREID. The device can detect microscopic particles (粒子) in water by using a laser and microscope. These particles can be harmful to people and the environment.
Kyle came up with the idea for the invention based on his experience growing up in San Diego, California, US. People had no access to unpolluted drinking water and his parents asked him not to drink tap water. Kyle spent about $60 buying the tools needed to analyze the tap water: a laser, a microscope and a micro-computer. “It’s incredibly powerful for the price,” Kyle said. Then he used their family’s garage as his laboratory, doing research on the pollution of drinking water caused by micro-plastics.
Kyle hopes to bring to market a low-cost alternative tool for detecting micro-plastic pollution levels in drinking water. In this way, he can offer help to people who don’t have access to water filtration (过滤) systems. He has applied for a patent.
Kyle said his sister Emily, a freshman at Stanford University, inspired his interest in environmental research. She was recognized nationally for developing a water collection device. They have founded the Clearwater Innovation program to advocate for clean water through social media platforms and organize community cleanup events.
1. What do we know about Kyle?| A．He is good at adapting sci-fi works. |
| B．He entered many novel contests. |
| C．He received an award for his invention. |
| D．He’s found microscopic particles in water. |
| A．People’s lack of clean drinking water. | B．People’s poor living conditions. |
| C．His desire to be a community leader. | D．His family’s encouragement. |
| A．Considerate and brave. | B．Optimistic and honest. |
| C．Determined and humorous. | D．Responsible and creative. |
| A．The introduction of NEREID. | B．A boy’s contribution to literature. |
| C．The harm of polluted water. | D．A US schooler’s water solution. |
【推荐2】One of the school days that I remember is my first day of school. Being a first grader seemed exciting to me then, and I really was happy. I was to study in an allgirls school. My mother took me to the front door of the classroom and left. I didn't mind because I didn't want to appear too childish.
The classroom fitted about forty students with still some room to spare. We sat in groups, six tables per group. I chose a seat and sat there while waiting for other girls to arrive. It didn't take that long and the other tables were soon full. There wasn't much chatting going on, and it seemed my classmates were very shy. After all, it was a truly new environment for us. The girls in my group were also shy and most of them were looking down. Finally, a girl sitting in front of me broke the silence—she introduced herself as Amanda. She then burst_out speaking about her family. The four other girls paid attention to what she said with an occasional (偶尔的) nod sometimes.
I lost what she said a few minutes after that. The next thing I knew was that she was already talking about her cat. “Do you know its name？” she asked me. I was a little surprised at the sudden question. I thought about it for a while, and then finally answered. “I don't know. It could be anything. ”The question was repeated to the other girls but with the same result. Amanda smiled proudly, happy that nobody could guess her cat's name.
“Its name is Coco, a female (雌性的) cat. Oh, I almost forget—what are your names？”
1. How did the writer feel on the first day of school?| A．Bored. | B．Excited. |
| C．Surprised. | D．Disappointed. |
| A．The writer went to school by herself on the first day. |
| B．The classroom was crowded with forty students in side. |
| C．The writer had waited a long time before the other students took their seats. |
| D．The writer didn't pay much attention to what Amanda said. |
| A．they were asked to keep silent |
| B．they didn't know what to begin with |
| C．they seemed to be too shy to speak |
| D．they didn't like their new school |
| A．suddenly began | B．angrily stopped |
| C．imagined | D．avoided |
【推荐3】Eradajere Oleita thinks she may have a partial solution to two of our country’s persistent problems: garbage and poverty. It’s called the Chip Bag Project. The 26-year-old student and environmentalist from Detroit is asking a favor of local snack lovers: Rather than toss your empty chip bags into the trash, donate them so she can turn them into sleeping bags for the homeless.
Chip eaters drop off their empty bags from Doritos, Lay’s, and other favorites at two locations in Detroit: a print shop and a clothing store, where Oleita and her volunteer helpers collect them. After they sanitize (消毒)the chip bags in soapy hot water, they slice them open, lay them flat, and iron them together. They use padding and liners from old coats to line the insides.
It takes about four hours to sew a sleeping bag, and each takes around 150 to 300 chip bags, depending on whether they’re single-serve or family size. The result is a sleeping bag that is “waterproof, lightweight, and easy to carry around, ” Oleita told the Detroit News. Since its start in 2020, the Chip Bag Project has collected more than 800, 000 chip bags and, as of last December, created 110 sleeping bags.
Sure, it would be simpler to raise the money to buy new sleeping bags. But that’s only half the goal for Oleita-whose family moved to the United States from Nigeria a decade ago with the hope of attaining a better life-and her fellow volunteers. “We are devoted to making an impact not only socially, but environmentally, ” she said.
And, of course, there’s the symbolism of recycling bags that would otherwise land in the trash and using them to help the homeless. It’s a powerful reminder that environmental injustice and poverty often go hand in hand. As Oleita said, “I think it’s time to show connections between all of these issues.
1. What is the main idea of paragraph 2?| A．How they make the sleeping bags. |
| B．Why they sanitize the chip bags. |
| C．Where they collect the chip bags. |
| D．What they use to line the insides. |
| A．The new sleeping bags have many benefits. |
| B．Large quantities of chips are consumed every day. |
| C．A lot of effort is put into making the sleeping bags. |
| D．People are aware of the importance of environmental protection. |
| A．They wish they could earn better life. |
| B．They think it is difficult to raise a lot of money. |
| C．They aim to help the homeless by recycling waste. |
| D．They want to find a simpler way to help the homeless. |
| A．Recycling chip bags can definitely remove poverty. |
| B．The new sleeping bags have been put into wide use. |
| C．Few chip bags will end up in the trash in the country. |
| D．Environmental injustice and poverty are usually closely connected. |
【推荐1】Robert Ballard is probably the most famous deep-sea explorer in the past 100 years. While he is best known for his historic discovery of the wreckage(残骸) of the R.M.S. Titanic which sank to the bottom of the sea in 1912, he also discovered the wreckage of the Bismarck and the Yorktown. Over his career, Dr. Ballard has completed over 120 deep-sea journeys and continues to push exploration to new depths with new technologies and strategies. His new high-tech Inner Space Center at the University of Rhode Island links scientists all over the world and makes it possible to identify new discoveries in realtime.
Reporter: What were you like as a kid?
Ballard: I was a very “active” kid with lots of interests including sports (football, basketball, and tennis), fishing, and studies.
Reporter: Do you have a hero?
Ballard: My hero is Captain Nemo from the book, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne and his submarine the Nautilus.
Reporter: What do you daydream about?
Ballard: I dream about undersea exploration.
Reporter: How did you get into your field of work?
Ballard: It started with a scholarship to the Scripps Institute of Oceanography in La Jolla, California, in the summer of 1959 when I was a junior in high school. That summer, I went to sea on two separate expeditions in Baja California with various oceanographers(海洋学家). During one of those expeditions, I met Dr. Robert Norris, a Scripps graduate with a Ph. D. in marine geology, who invited me to come to the University of California, Santa Barbara where I ended up getting my undergraduate degree in Geology and Chemistry with minors in Math and Physics.
Reporter: What’s the best piece of advice that anyone has ever given you that you can share with us?
Ballard: Follow your dreams and don’t let anyone talk you out of them.
Reporter: Do you have any good jokes?
Ballard: I prefer sayings to jokes. My favorite is, “Never get into the thick of thin things.”
1. It can be inferred from the first paragraph that Robert Ballard ________.| A．is president of a university and travels a lot |
| B．is the most famous deep-sea explorer in history |
| C．is still contributing to the development of deep-sea exploration |
| D．is best famous for the discovery of the wreckages of three ships |
| A．is Jules Verne’s nickname | B．is the name of a ship |
| C．is a sailor on a submarine | D．is a character in a book |
| A．He was lucky to meet Dr. Robert Norris. |
| B．He once wrote a book about the sea. |
| C．He loves jokes more than proverbs. |
| D．He used to be tired of studying. |
| A．The great achievements of Robert Ballard. |
| B．An interview with a famous deep-sea explorer. |
| C．A brief introduction to famous Robert Ballard. |
| D．What a famous deep-sea explorer is like. |
【推荐2】Li Jianguo, a 49-year-old teacher at the Tianjin Vocational Institute, is set to be named as one of the “2022 most beautiful teachers”—an annual public award sponsored by the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Ministry of Education.
Li has stood out by taking the lead in the training of students in vocational skills, gaining a number of honors including being named as a national role model teacher. He has mentored(指导) seven national-level technique experts and a team of 14 technique masters. One of his students, Guo Jinpeng, who graduated from the institute in 2007, became a college teacher at the Chengdu Auto Vocational and Technical School and was named as a national role model teacher in 2019.
Li’s nomination as one of the “2022 most beautiful teachers” reflects that China is focusing on the importance of vocational education and aims to foster(培养) more leading personnel with the spirit of craftsmanship in the manufacturing industry.
At an international vocational and technical education conference in Tianjin last month, Li noted that there is no difference between vocational education and ordinary education, and vocational education is not secondary nor should it ever be treated as less than ordinary education. “Vocational education has the mission of fostering a quality workforce and technical experts for the country. The hardworking spirit is the key to building any ordinary people into leading personnel,” he said.
Li joined the institute in 1993 and later founded a machinery engineering practice center, providing free training t0 7,500 people a week. In 2015, he led a team of teachers to work for 40 days to repair 124 machine tools in the center. Li has devoted himself to building the country’s first additive manufacturing technique and application center at the institute to satisfy the thirst for the country’s human resources in 3D printing.
1. Why does the author mention Guo Jinpeng in paragraph 2?| A．To show the achievements of Li Jianguo. | B．To make a comparison with Li Jianguo. |
| C．To publicize national role model teachers. | D．To praise national-level technique expert |
| A．It is secondary to ordinary education. |
| B．It has nothing to do with hardworking spirit. |
| C．It is more important than ordinary education. |
| D．It should develop qualified and skilled talents. |
| A．Boring. | B．Productive. | C．Challenging. | D．Well-paid. |
| A．China Sponsoring Annual Award for Teachers |
| B．China Aiming to Develop More Leading Personnel |
| C．Different Education Training Different Kinds of Students |
| D．A Vocational Teacher to Be Awarded as One of the “Most Beautiful Teachers” |
【推荐3】An embroidered (刺绣的) butterfly made by Liang Zhongmei is so lifelike that it could easily be mistaken for the real thing. It looks as if it could flap its colorful wings and fly free from its white cloth background.
This 55-year-old embroiderer from Guizhou Province was born in a closed and underdeveloped village deep in the mountains, where most residents live by farming or as migrant workers. Losing her left arm at a very young age meant she could not feed herself, but she refused to become downhearted, and learned embroidery from her mother diligently and determinedly.
After producing several works featuring butterflies and goldfish, she won many national professional skills awards in 2011 among people with disabilities. In 2012, she opened her workshop, with embroiderers putting their designs on the shelves to sell to locals, but business was poor.
However, Liang’s career prospered after an online commercial order. Now, clothes, ties, paintings and handicrafts produced by the workshop are sold to consumers worldwide via e-commerce platforms, with profit reaching from 300,000 yuan to 500,000 yuan annually.
As the number of orders rose, Liang employed more workers, offering jobs to more than 100 female embroiderers in the neighborhood. She has also organized training courses for jobless women. “Thanks to the online buyers, our products sell well, which has changed our lives and brought us income and dignity,” Liang said.
Wang Danqing, an online seller, has worked with Liang’s team since 2015. She said, “Many young consumers prefer products with cultural elements and personal appeal. Only by combining embroidered designs with modern life can cultural heritage be seen, loved, protected and passed down.”
1. What do we know about Liang Zhongmei?| A．She made a fortune when her business began. |
| B．She became world-famous after winning awards. |
| C．She was strong-willed while learning embroidery. |
| D．She was brought up in a well-off environment. |
| A．took off. | B．went wrong. |
| C．held steady. | D．broke down. |
| A．New designs need to be integrated into the products. |
| B．Expanding the range of product sales online is crucial. |
| C．It is Liang’s duty to pass on the embroidered technique. |
| D．Products with personal elements are favored by the youth. |
| A．Online shopping gains popularity in China. |
| B．Young people take a great interest in embroidery. |
| C．Liang became an expert in embroidery despite her disability. |
| D．Disabled Liang achieved success by trading embroidery online. |
