After 13 years with the Royal Mail, you might think Peter Willis could happily spend his retirement（退休）without ever seeing another post box.
But the postman has decided to keep himself busy by photographing as many of Britain's 115, 000 post boxes as possible.
The 67-year-old man has covered thousands of miles taking pictures of 2,500 post boxes since he started this great activity five years ago.
Mr Willis, who worked as a Royal Mail manager before he retired, said, “It started out as a bit of a hobby but has developed into a bit of an obsession（痴迷）. There is something wonderful about discovering a post box which is in a strange location or is particularly old but is still being used by people to communicate with each other. When I've taken a picture of a post box, I will remove it from the list. I'm not sure whether I can get round all 115,000. I’ve done around 2,500 boxes and I'm always looking out for the next one. ”
He takes his wife Dianne, 64, with him along the way. "She often stands guard if I’m in the middle of the road taking pictures as I get down on my hands and knees to record the bases, which have details of the producers on them. She is usually telling the passing public that I’m not actually mad. I suppose she gets a bit bored sometimes. Sometimes she’ll let me go off on my own. ” said Mr Willis.
Over the past years, Mr Willis has photographed post boxes in Inverness, Dublin and across England. His photos include unusual locations, such as several post boxes at the top of hills and even one inside a theatre.
When he finds a new post box, Mr Willis photographs the base to record the producer's name and gives a grid reference（坐标参考）on a map.
1. What's Peter Willis hobby?| A．Searching for special post boxes. |
| B．Photographing beautiful post boxes. |
| C．Collecting and sending letters for free. |
| D．Taking pictures of post boxes. |
| A．He has pictured 2, 500 post boxes in Dublin. |
| B．He has been to theaters to see movies about post boxes. |
| C．He has been abroad to produce post boxes. |
| D．He has taken photos of post boxes in different places. |
| A．She may make certain that he is safe. |
| B．She helps to communicate with the post box producers. |
| C．She has a huge database of post boxes. |
| D．She helps to record the names of post box producers. |
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【推荐1】Retirement, if you plan well, is filled with leisure time to do what you want when you want. That is why we call retirement the Golden Years. Retirees with grandchildren have the leisure to see them whenever they want.
Early in the pandemic (流行病)，health experts warned older adults to limit contact with children. No matter how much you love them, children are known for spreading germs. And older adults are at higher risk of dying from CO VID-19. But now, as the pandemic continues, the situation is changing again for some retired people. Because of the pandemic, most grandparents are involved in the family's childcare.
Why? For many families, school is also childcare for working parents.
Mary Hill and her husband Bill have to care for their grandson Will five days a week and supervise his distance learning. Mary says she and her husband are much busier than they were before the pandemic.
| A．But most schools remain closed. |
| B．However, that changed with the coronavirus pandemic. |
| C．As a result, many families are struggling to find childcare. |
| D．It is not easy for old adults to get along with their grandchildren. |
| E．Besides being much busier, grandparents face another difficult problem. |
| F．In the United States, some grandparents are adding new work in their Golden Years. |
| G．Children experts say grandparents and their grandchildren should hang out together regularly. |
【推荐2】My name is Jake. I’m brown, and rather short, standing just a little past my master’s knees. My friend Andy once took me to a dog show. I’ve never seen so many different-looking dogs in my life! They all looked pretty and handsome, and their masters were very proud of them when they jumped and ran across so many barriers at that dog show. Andy promised that he’d let me join a dog show, too, if the organizers opened a division for my “breed”.
While I was watching that show, I remembered my friends at the pound（走失猫狗的待领处）， where I spent two long weeks. We were kept in cages, and although we were well-fed, every day during those two weeks, I hoped to have someone touch my head and play with me.
You could just imagine how glad I was when, one day, Andy came in with his dad and pointed in my direction. I stood up on my hind legs and did a little jig （一种快步舞）, and then I wagged my tail and tried to chase it. The father and his son kept laughing at what I was trying to do, and in a few minutes, I was riding on their car on the way to my new home. I was Mr. Archer’s gift for Andy’s eighth birthday. I heard him shout that I was the best gift ever!
My favorite amusement is hanging my tongue out of the car window and letting the wind blow on my face. I just love long drives! It is during these times that I think of all my friends whom I left behind at the dog pound. I hope that soon, little boys or girls would also pick them and give them new homes, so they would be able to enjoy walks in the park and trips to the beach, as I do now.
1. Why didn’t Jake join the dog show?| A．Because he wasn’t handsome enough. |
| B．Because his “breed” was not included. |
| C．Because Andy didn’t allow him to join in. |
| D．Because he couldn’t jump and run across barriers. |
| A．He couldn’t get enough food. | B．He couldn’t enjoy full freedom. |
| C．He had to stand all the time. | D．He was satisfied with his life. |
| A．To donate some food. | B．To volunteer at the pound |
| C．To find his son a gift. | D．To spend his holiday |
| A．Having more long drives with Andy. |
| B．Meeting his friends at the pound again. |
| C．More boys and girls coming to play with him. |
| D．His friends at the pound being adopted. |
| A．happy | B．terrible | C．dissatisfactory | D．blue |
【推荐3】Sitting across from a German couple and a Chinese mother and her child,we were waiting at the Guilin airport for our delayed flight to Shanghai.In this last week of our travel study tour,my husband and I were appreciating this short break by reading.
I didn’t care the languages I couldn’t understand.But it was an American accent that pulled my attention from my book.It also pulled the attention of three rows of people seated around us as the American barked“Coming through!Coming through!’’
At the same time,an oversized man pulling an oversized carryon passed our row.His wheeled bag caught the German’s feet.Turning to see what snagged his luggage,the American pulled his bag so hard that it crossed over the man’s feet.It was then that my horror struck.There was no“I’m sorry”，no“Excuse me”and no“Pardon me”coming from this countryman of mine.
While this wasn’t the first or last incident where I saw discourteous，ill-mannered and rude Americans in China,each produced similar feelings.First,I was embarrassed that someone from my country was creating a negative(负面的）impression of Americans.My second reaction was a desire to apologize.I wanted to explain to the Chinese woman and her child,the German couple next to them,and everyone nearby that this was not typical American behavior.I wanted them to know“we”were all not like that.
I never got to explain,or to apologize.language differences made that choice impossible,and rational(理性的)thinking made it unsuitable.But it turned out not to be a need.The German man caught my eyes with a bit of headshaking,smiling and eye rolling,which I returned,and it was clear that he knew we were Americans and was expressing that there was“no need”to apologize for“universal idiot behavior”
1. In the airport,the author and her husband .| A．were talking with a German couple |
| B．were enjoying reading together |
| C．were having a hard time |
| D．were worried about their flight |
| A．He was confident. | B．He was impolite. |
| C．He was social. | D．He was generous. |
| A．destroyed | B．covered | C．pushed | D．stopped |
| A．Uneasy and apologetic. | B．Scared and disappointed. |
| C．Proud but nervous. | D．Comfortable but stressful. |
【推荐1】Four Efficient Ways to Improve Your Speech
One psychologist feels that our facial expression is responsible more than anything else for the impression others have of us.
Our voice is the main instrument we own for communicating with people, we're all sound sensitive.
Psychologists tell us that most individuals don't use above ten percent of their inherent capacity for memory. Because they don't practise the fundamentals of remembering. It's difficult to recall anything without wanting to have a burning desire to remember. Moreover, our success depends greatly on our ability to concentrate. The next principle is repetition. Next time you intend to keep things in mind in school, try to repeat them over and over again.
| A．Fear and nervousness definitely do harm to your health. |
| B．The more associations you make, the easier it'll be to recall |
| C．It's natural to have some tension or nervousness when you appear before an audience |
| D．A good voice can be polished through frequent practice. |
| E．And as a final approach to fear —prepare, then act with confidence |
| F．Remember that Winston Churchill used stones in his mouth while practising his speaking |
| G．Actually, over 50 percent of another's impression is influenced by the look on your face |
【推荐2】At 11, Xi Ni is already an experienced tennis player. Off the court, the sixth-grader from Wuxi, in eastern China’s Jiangsu Province, speaks quietly and gently. But when it’s game time, she’s totally focused as she chases the ball, moving energetically across the court.
Despite an overall trend of declining health and athleticism (竞技热) among Chinese children, a growing number of young people are taking up tennis — a sport invented in the U.K. in 1873 that barely existed in China less than two decades ago.
Like many others, Ni began playing tennis in 2011, when China’s former world No. 2 female tennis player Li Na became the first from Asia to win the Grand Slam championship title at the French Open. Li’s success led to a domestic tennis fever. In that same year, Ni’s father and coach, Xi Zhiye, began training his then-5-year-old daughter.
“There was a surge in the number of Chinese teenagers starting to learn tennis that year — some of the parents thought the sport could be a possible future for their children,” said Xi. He quit his job in securities trading two years ago to focus on his daughter’s tennis training.
In the U.S., there’s no contradiction between sports and academic studies, but in China, it’s the reality.
Last year, Xi Ni won third place in the national Zheng Jie Cup teen tennis tournament. The 11-year-old is a short-distance runner and a soccer player on the school teams, but it’s her tennis ability cultivated over six years of intensive training that has won her the most medals.
“I like playing tennis. It helps me relax after school,” Ni told Sixth Tone. “I’m the only one at my school who plays tennis, but I don’t feel lonely — I make friends at different tournaments, and they’re all excellent tennis players.”
1. The first paragraph is mainly used to ____________.| A．praise Xi Ni | B．introduce the topic |
| C．show Xi Ni’s hobby | D．make a comment |
| A．In 2010. | B．In 2011. | C．In 2012. | D．In 2013. |
| A．Because he was tired of it. |
| B．Because the salary was low. |
| C．Because he wished to train Xi Ni attentively. |
| D．Because his daughter begged him to coach her. |
| A．Ni cares more for soccer. |
| B．In her age group, Ni is a top player. |
| C．Intensive training has brought her suffering. |
| D．Ni keeps turning to excellent players for help. |
【推荐3】Hobbies let you explore interests outside your work.
Look at what interests you. And examine what takes up your spare time, when you have it. Do you enjoy reading books? Maybe you want to try your hand at writing them. Do you like a cool beer at the end of the day? Maybe your hobby could be trying to make beer at home.
Think about what you value most. What qualities do you think important? Do you value wisdom or courage? Do you admire artistic expression?
A. Help others to choose a hobby.
B. Examine your skills and personality.
C. Turn what you already love into a hobby.
D. Decide whether you’re interested in one thing.
E. Think about the topics you go on endlessly about.
F. They let you be creative and try all kinds of new things.
G. Let those qualities guide you when you’re choosing a hobby.
Larry first began diving when he was his daughter’s age. Similarly, his father had taken him along on one of his expeditions. Since then, he had never looked back. Larry started out by renting diving suits from the small diving shop just along the shore. He had hated them. They were either too big or too small. Then, there was the instructor. He gave him a short lesson before allowing him into the water with his father. He had made an exception. Larry would never have been able to go down without at least five hours of theory and another similar number of hours on practical lessons with a guide. Children his age were not even allowed to dive.
After the first expedition, Larry’s later diving adventures only got better and better. There was never a dull moment. In his black and blue suit and with an oxygen tank fastened on his back, Larry dived from boats into the middle of the ocean. Dangerous areas did not prevent him from continuing his search. Sometimes, he was limited to a cage underwater but that did not bother him. At least, he was still able to take photographs of the underwater creatures.
Larry’s first expedition without his father was in the Cayman Islands. There were numerous diving spots in the area and Larry was determined to visit all of them. Fortunately for him, a man offered to take him around the different Spots for free. Larry didn’t even know what the time was, how many spots he dived into or how many photographs he had taken. The diving spots afforded such a wide array of fish and sea creatures that Larry saw more than thirty varieties of creatures.
Larry looked at his daughter. She looked as excited as he had been when he was her age. He hoped she would be able to continue the family tradition. Already, she looked like she was much braver than had been then. This was the key to a successful underwater expedition.
1. In what way was this expedition different for Larry?
| A．His daughter had grown up. |
| B．He had become a famous diver. |
| C．His father would dive with him. |
| D．His daughter would dive with him. |
| A．Larry had some privileges. |
| B．Larry liked the rented diving suits. |
| C．Divers had to buy diving equipment. |
| D．Ten-year-old children were permitted to dive. |
| A．To protect himself from danger. |
| B．To dive into the deep water. |
| C．To admire the underwater view. |
| D．To take photo more conveniently. |
| A．Larry didn’t wear a watch. |
| B．Larry was not good at math. |
| C．Larry had a poor memory. |
| D．Larry enjoyed the adventure. |
| A．Become a successful diver. |
| B．Make a good diving guide. |
| C．Take a lot of photo underwater. |
| D．Have longer hours of training. |
【推荐2】Superheroes come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes, as is the case here, they even have tails! On October 11, 2021, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) honored Bear, an Australian Koolie, with the “Animal of the Year” Award.
“We think Bear really deserved (应得) this award because he’s been such a good boy in helping us find and rescue a lot of koalas, especially during the bushfires. He works throughout the year to help us in our job to make a better and safer place for koalas,” says Bear’s owner, Dr. Romane Cristescu of the University of the Sunshine Coast.
Bear’s backstory is all too familiar for rescue dogs. His previous owners found his “endless energy and uncontrollable love for play” too much to control and decided to give him up for adoption (收养). They reached out to the University of the Sunshine Coast’s Detection Dogs for Conservation team. Within minutes, the trainers knew he would be a perfect rescue dog. Bear owned a good sense of smell. More importantly, he had no interest in killing the animals he found. All he wanted to do was play!
Between November 2019 and April 2020, the brave canine managed to find out over 100 injured koalas in forests. In May 2020, Cristescu told Newsweek,“We have found some koalas with burns, but many have less visible injuries. We have found some koalas seriously injured. We also have found koalas that are too young to be on their own in the bush and must have been separated from their mums during the fire.
“Bear is a truly amazing dog highlighting the important and positive relationships between animals and humans,” James Sawyer, the UK director of IFAW, said.
1. Why was Bear honored the “Animal of the Year” Award?| A．He had saved his owner s life. | B．He had helped put out bushfires. |
| C．He had found safe homes for koalas. | D．He had done a good job as a rescue dog. |
| A．His unusual energy. | B．His interest in rescuing. |
| C．His great sense of smell. | D．His love for other animals. |
| A．An injured koala. | B．Bear. |
| C．Bear s new owner. | D．Cristescu. |
【推荐3】When I began planning to move to Auckland to study, my mother was a little worried about the uncertainty of living in a place that was so different from India, where we lived. She worried particularly about the lack of jobs, the cultural differences and the chance that I would face racism.
Despite these worries, came to New Zealand in July 2014. I have found the place and people very nice and supportive. Soon after I arrived, realized the importance of getting a job to supply my living expenses.
Determined to do this on my own, I spent a whole day going from door to door asking for a job. However, I received little or no response. This became my routine every day after college for a few weeks.
One afternoon, I walked into a building to ask if there were any job opportunities. The people there were very surprised, and advised me not to continue my job search in that manner. As I was about to leave, a clerk in the building, who had been listening to what the others had said, approached me and asked if I would wait outside. Fifteen minutes later, he returned. He asked me what my plans were and encouraged me to stay confident. He then offered to take me to the Royal Oak area to search for a job.
I was a little surprised, but had a good feeling about him, so I went along. Along the way, I realized that I had run out of copies of my resume（简历）. The man stopped at his business partner’s office to make me 15 extra copies. He also gave me tips on dressing and speaking, and added that I should give him a call if I ever needed anything. I handed out my resumes and went home feeling very satisfied. The following day, I received a call from a store in Royal Oak offering me a job.
It seems that the world always gives back to you when you need it. And this time, it was a complete stranger who turned out to be a real blessing.
1. What wasn’t the author’s mother worried about?| A．People might look down on the author. |
| B．The author couldn’t speak the local language. |
| C．The author wasn’t familiar with local customs. |
| D．It might be difficult for the author to find a job. |
| A．decided to go back to his own country |
| B．felt the local people were not very friendly |
| C．had to find a job to cover his living expenses |
| D．wanted to get a job that needed practical skills |
| A．a clerk gave him encouragement and advice |
| B．he was confident that he would find a good one |
| C．he found many college students like him already there |
| D．a clerk recommended him to the company he worked for |
| A．How a stranger offered the author a job. |
| B．How a stranger turned out to be a real blessing. |
| C．How the author adapted himself to a new situation. |
| D．How the author was helped to get a job by a stranger. |
【推荐1】It may help you to know that there is no such thing as a perfect speech. At some point in every speech, every speaker says something that is not understood exactly as he has planned. Fortunately, such moments are usually not obvious(明显的) to the listeners. Why? Because the listeners do not know what the speaker plans to say. They hear only what the speaker does say. If you lose your place for a moment, wrongly change the order of a couple of sentences, or forget to pause at a certain point, no one will be any the wiser. When such moments occur, don't worry about them. Just continue as if nothing happened.
Even if you do make an obvious mistake during a speech, that doesn't really matter. If you have ever listened to Martin Luther King's famous speech---"I have a Dream", you may notice that he stumbles(结巴) over his words twice during the speech. Most likely, however, you don't remember. Why? Because you were fixing your attention on his message rather than on his way of speech-making.
People care a lot about making a mistake in a speech because they regard speech-making as a kind of performance rather than as an act of communication(交流). They feel the listeners are like judges in an ice-skating competition. But, in fact, the listeners are not looking for a perfect performer. They are looking for a well-thought-out speech that expresses the speaker's ideas clearly and directly. Sometimes a mistake or two can actually increase a speaker's attractiveness by making him more human.
As you work on your speech, don't worry about being perfect. Once you free your mind of this, you will find it much easier to give your speech freely.
1. The underlined part in the first paragraph means that no one will ______.| A．be smarter than you | B．notice your mistakes |
| C．do better than you | D．know what you are talking about |
| A．your attention is on the content |
| B．you don't fully understand the speech |
| C．you don't know what the speaker plans to say |
| D．you find the way of speech-making more important |
| A．giving a speech is like giving a performance |
| B．one or two mistakes in a speech may not be bad |
| C．the listeners should pay more attention to how a speech is made |
| D．the more mistakes a speaker makes, the more attractive he will be. |
| A．How to Be a Perfect Speaker | B．How to Make a Perfect Speech |
| C．Don't Expect a Perfect Speech | D．Don't Expect Mistakes in a Speech |
【推荐2】The following are a few of my favorite TV shows, each of which have some educational value.
Blue Peter
As a child, this was one of the only programmes I was allowed to watch. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, but seemed to have fallen out of fashion recently. The crafts on the show were always good fun, and you would often learn about different countries around the world—for example, one presenter went to the Amazon rainforest in South America!
The Great British Bake Off
This show is all about making cakes, biscuits, and pies. The aim is to find British’s best amateur(业余的)baker. You can watch the show to get some ideas of new things to try baking and the recipes are often available online.
Frozen Planet
David Attenborough has produced many wildlife documentaries. I love this show not only because of the cute animals in it, but also because it teaches us about the effect we have on the planet and what need to do to save these regions. David narrates each episode(电视剧的一集); because he speaks clearly and slowly, his show might be of interest to English language learners.
Pointless
This show is a general knowledge quiz show. Each round will feature a different category(e.g. Sport, music, films) and a topic will be given, for example “Teams which have won the World Cup”. Before the show, 100 people will have been asked the same question. Then they have to think of an answer and the aim is to find an answer which none of the 100 people asked before the show thought of. I've learnt a lot from this show!
1. If you are a food lover, you may be interested in _______.| A．Blue Peter | B．The Great British Bake Off | C．Frozen Planet | D．Pointless |
| A．Blue Peter | B．The Great British Bake Off |
| C．Frozen Planet | D．Pointless |
| A．Some popular TV shows in English |
| B．Some educational TV shows |
| C．How to choose the TV shows for kids |
| D．The differences between some TV Shows |
【推荐3】Starman, the dummy(仿真人) riding a cherry-red Tesla Roadster(特斯拉敞篷车) through space, has made his closest approach ever to Mars. The electric roadster and its passenger were attached to the top of a Falcon Heavy rocket during the SpaceX rocket’s first test launch on 6 February 2018. Two years later, the Falcon Heavy rocket and the vehicle at its tip are making their second trip around the Sun. Mr. McDowell, a Harvard astrophysicist, found that Starman passed 7.4 million kilometres from Mars at 06:25 GMT 7 October, 2020.
The closest recent approach between the Earth and Mars was 56 million kilometres in 2003, though the planets are often hundreds of millions of miles apart depending on where they are in their orbits. No one can see the Falcon Heavy rocket at its current distance, but orbits over periods of a few years are fairly straightforward to predict, and Mr. MeDowell used data about how the rocket was moving when it left the Earth’s gravity behind to locate its recent movements exactly.
Last time Starman circled the Sun, MeDowell said, it crossed Mars’ orbit while the Red Planet was quite far away. But this time the crossing lined up with a fairly close approach, though still not close enough to feel a strong tug from Mars.
At this point in time, if you were able to go look at the Roadster, it would probably look pretty different. The strong solar radiation environment between the planets would probably have destroyed all the exposed organic materials. Without the Earth’s atmospheric and magnetic(磁场的) protection, even the plastics and carbon-fibre materials would start to break up. Over the course of decades or centuries, the car will end up with its aluminium(铝) frame and hard glass parts----that’s assuming that none of them get destroyed in impacts with passing space rocks.
1. What can we infer from the first paragraph?| A．Starman has set out on its second trip around the Sun. |
| B．Starman has travelled 7.4 million kilometres after launch. |
| C．Starman is now circling around the Earth in its orbit. |
| D．Starman still has a long way to go before getting to Mars. |
| A．By keeping Starman under visual observation. |
| B．By predicting its future orbit around the earth. |
| C．By analyzing data about the rocket’s movement. |
| D．By seeking professional help from SpaceX. |
| A．pressure | B．drive | C．resistance | D．pull |
| A．Be reduced to its frame and glass. | B．Crash onto Mars. |
| C．Return to SpaceX on the earth. | D．Be recovered during its next space mission. |
