【推荐1】New apps, new you! Self-improvement is only a click away.

Quizlet

Quizlet is a portable flashcard system. You can search millions of already set-up flashcards and learning tools. They are especially good for subjects with lots of terminology or vocabulary in them such as languages, history and science. If you have a study buddy, then Quizlet can bring you together online. You can share the flashcards in the study folder and send to your friends. They can check the flashcards on their phone or computer.

Strava

Exercise apps like Strava can keep your fitness goals on track. Strava helps you record your exercise activities, set exercise goals and be part of an exercise community. Also, you can see you and your friends’ activities on Strava, which helps keep you motivated to exercise regularly. You can also give friends’ activities a “thumbs-up” or comment.

1SE

The idea behind this app is very simple: Turn films you have taken on your phone into a video compilation (合辑). In particular, it’s about filming one second every day, which is where the name 1SE comes from. You may think one second is not very long. But when combining one-second videos for each day of the year, that is 365 seconds—more than six minutes! Watching this six-minute video is like going on a memory roller coaster of your year, which helps people appreciate the little moments in everyday life. It’s quite powerful.

Trello

Here is a time management app continually rated among the top time management apps on the market, all with the goal of making you spend less time planning and more time doing. No matter how you prefer to track projects and time, Trello always allows you to easily see who is doing what at a quick look, so you’ll never drop the ball on an important project. Using a time management app is one of the easiest ways to get more of something we wish we had: Productivity.

1. What do Quizlet and Strava have in common?

A．They are both free of charge for users.

B．They are both interactive by sharing with friends.

C．They both help you study and exercise in a proper way.

D．You can download both of them anytime on your phones.

2. Which of the following can best describe 1SE?

A．It’s intended for video-lovers.

B．It is the little moments that matter in our life.

C．The idea behind the app is popular with everyone.

D．It helps turn the films on your phone into a six-minute video.

3. Which app is designed for people eager for productivity?

A．Quizlet.

B．Strava.

C．1SE.

D．Trello.

【推荐2】The following are a few cities with cheap attractions or restaurants in California, the US.
Cathedral City
The Indian Oven in the city will give you a high-quality dining experience. It’s a restaurant with traditional Indian dishes. All of the lunch specials are $5.95 and are served from 11:30 am to 2:00 pm. The windows of the restaurants give you the beautiful views of desert mountain scenes. You need to call 92234(760)770-3918 to book a table.
Palm Desert
Palm Desert, a city in Riverside County, has a number of free desert hiking trails(小径). They are named after famous Western Hollywood cowboys. The trails are fun to hike on. At some points they go up very high and you can get a bird’s-eye view of the surrounding desert cities. The paths are dusty, so bring some good hiking boots and hats. Do bring some water and your phone. It’s great for an afternoon hike after 2 pm. Call 92260(760)340-0574 or 92253(760)564-4712 to learn more.
Lake Cahuilla
Away from the busy streets of the city of Palm Springs, Lake Cahuilla is a great recreational(娱乐的) area you can visit in La Quinta. It is at the foot of the Santa Rosa Mountains. It costs $3.00 for per person to enter the area, but a half for kids under 7. The activities include: camping, fishing, bicycling, and horseback riding. If you want to save on rooms, you can stay in an RV. Call 92278(760)664-7215 and you’ll learn something else.
1. The desert hiking trails__________.

A．are named after some famous people

B．reach the top of some high mountains.

C．provide visitors with free water and food.

D．have attracted many well-known cowboys.

2. If you want to know more about the restaurants in Lake Cahuilla, you can call __________.

A．92260(760)340-0574	B．92278(760)664-7215
C．92234(760)770-3918	D．92253(760)564-4712

3. We can learn from the passage that ________.

A．the Indian Oven must be a well-known restaurant in India.

B．kids enjoy the hiking trails in Palm Desert at half price.

C．Palm Desert has been badly polluted by human activities.

D．staying in an RV costs less than staying in a hotel room.

【推荐3】Bright Side did some research on many places throughout the world where you can buy a house for 1 dollar or for free!

Roubaix, France

If you like France, Roubaix located in the north of France is just for you. The local authorities want it to be populated and attractive. You can buy a small house in the industrial district for just $1. The buyer is supposed to live in this house for 3 years.

Buffalo, USA

Buffalo offers whoever qualifies to buy a house for $1. All you need is to be a lawful citizen of the city and invest amount of money into its decoration. Doing this, the authorities are hoping to make the city beautiful again without spending money.

Liverpool, Great Britain

In Liverpool, most of houses were abandoned by the working class during the years of unemployment. The government is trying to sell the houses for just $1. If you want to buy such a house, it has to be your first deal on buying property (不动产).

Candela, Italy

If you still have any doubts about spending $1 on a house, you should know: the government will pay you some money, if you move to Candela. In order to be paid, you need to become a permanent citizen and have an income of $7500 per year. If moving alone, you will get $700, and if you are going with your family, the pay can be four times as much as only one person.

For more information of other cities, please Click Here.

1. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．It is impossible to buy a house for $1.

B．The houses in some parts of the world are sold for $1 just for the same reason.

C．The authorities of Roubaix want more people to live there.

D．In Liverpool unemployed people have a lot of houses.

2. Why do the authorities of Buffalo provide a house for people with $1?

A．To improve the lives of poor people.	B．To solve the problems of employment.
C．To make the city attractive at no cost.	D．To attract people to the big cities.

3. What is required to buy a house for 1 dollar in Liverpool?

A．You must be making the first house purchase.

B．You should live in the house for 3 years.

C．You need to be an unemployed citizen.

D．You have to repair and decorate the house.

4. How much money can you get if moving to Candela with a whole family?

A．$1

B．$2800

C．$700

D．$7500

5. Where is this passage most likely to come from?

A．a novel.

B．a magazine.

C．a letter.

D．the Internet.

【推荐1】One of the most famous archaeological discoveries in all of history is The Terracotta Army. It's also called the Terracotta Warriors and Horses and they were found by farmers digging for a well in Xi'an in 1974. Becoming a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987, the spectacular figures continue to attract millions of visitors from all over the world. Yet the excavations (发掘) are unfinished. Famously, archaeological work at the site and the accompanying Tomb of the First Qin Emperor has been allowed to slow down until technology advances enough to preserve the art works currently buried underground. In addition to this, safety concerns have been raised regarding the unusually high levels of mercury (水银) found on the soil. It's said that this is from the mercury streams which were in the floor of the burial chamber, but only time will tell if this ancient tale is true.

Currently 8000 soldiers have been found, each one with a distinctively different look. This was achieved through an early use of assembly-line (流水线). The warriors were assembled using moulds（模具), with 8 different heads to choose from, and features being added by skilled craftsmen. Studying the warriors and their horses offers historians an important insight into this period in Chinese history. The technology used to assemble the underground army was truly remarkable. Over 40,000 bronze weapons were found, and after more than 2000 years they still appear sharp. How is this possible? The ancient Chinese managed to use protective chrome plating (镀铬), something which was thought to have been invented in Germany in 1937! Chinese metallurgy（冶金） was thousands of years ahead of its time.

When it is finally uncovered, the sight will truly be spectacular and much more will be understood about China's first Emperor and the level of technology the ancient Chinese possessed.

1. Why does the archaeological work at the site slow down?

A．To attract more visitors.

B．To protect the environment.

C．To avoid the low levels of mercury.

D．To preserve the underground art works.

2. Which one of the following is true?

A．All the 8000 soldiers don't have the same look.

B．Germany metallurgy was thousands of years ahead of its time.

C．Assembly-line was used in the construction of the warriors.

D．The bronze weapons still appear sharp because of German technology.

3. What can be learned from the passage?

A．The discovery of The Terracotta Army was not accidental.

B．It was impossible for the ancient Chinese to use chrome plating.

C．The technology used to assemble the underground army was the best.

D．Much more will be known about China's first Emperor when his tomb is finally uncovered.

4. What is the best title for this passage?

A．A new archaeological discovery.

B．The Terracotta Warriors and Horses.

C．Amazing Ancient Chinese Technology.

D．The Tomb of the First Emperor in ancient China.

【推荐2】In 1947 a group of famous people from the art world headed by an Austrian conductor decided to hold an international festival of music, dance and theatre in Edinburgh. The idea was to reunite Europe after the Second World War.

It quickly attracted famous names such as Alec Guinness, Richard Burton, Darne Margot Fonteyn and Marlene Dietrich as well as the big symphony orchestras (交响乐团). It became a fixed event every August and now attracts 400,000 people yearly.

At the same time, the “Fringe” appeared as a challenge to the official festival. Eight theatre groups turned up uninvited in 1947, in the belief that everyone should have the right to perform, and they did so in a public housed issued for years.

Soon, groups of students firstly from Edinburgh University, and later from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, Durham and Birmingham were making the journey to the Scottish capital each summer to perform theatre by little-known writers of plays in small church halls to the people of Edinburgh.

Today the “Fringe”, once less recognized, has far outgrown the festival with around 1,500 performances of theatre, music and dance on every one of the 21 days it lasts. And yet as early as 1959, with only 19 theatre groups performing, some said it was getting too big.

A paid administrator was first employed only in 1971, and today there are eight administrators working all year round and the number rises to 150 during August itself. In 2004 there were 200 places housing 1,695 shows by over 600 different groups from 50 different countries. More than 1.25 million tickets were sold.

1. What was the purpose of Edinburgh Festival at the beginning?

A．To introduce young theatre groups.

B．To honor heroes of World War II.

C．To bring Europe together again.

D．To attract great artists from Europe.

2. Why did some uninvited theatre groups come to Edinburgh in 1947?

A．They owned a public house there.

B．They wanted to take part in the festival.

C．They thought they were also famous.

D．They came to take up a challenge.

3. Who joined the Fringe after it appeared?

A．Popular writers.

B．Performers of music and dance.

C．Artists from around the world.

D．University students.

4. We may learn from the text that Edinburgh Festival          .

A．has become a non-official event

B．keeps growing rapidly

C．gives shows all year round

D．has gone beyond an art festival

【推荐3】As most people know, in the past few years, sandstorms have wept across many cities and areas of North China, polluting the air and disturbing daily lives of beings. People look dirty and suffer many kinds of illnesses, such as breath difficulty. The sandstorm is such a serious problem that it has not only weakened the industrial and agricultural development of our country but also caused a lot of trouble to the living conditions of the Chinese people. It is expected that effective measures be taken as soon as possible through our joint efforts to limit its occurrence.

So what should we do with the frightening sandstorms? Some experts put forward practical suggestions as follows: For one thing, more funds ought to be put into tree planting and forest protection so as to keep more water resources within the surface of the earth. For another governments of all countries should make laws on environmental protection. For example, burning the use of throw-away chopsticks and punishing illegal tree cutting. Scientists should also study and find ways to cut down the degree of its destruction and to improve the whole environment.

How people look forward to sunny days with little breeze(微风) touching their faces now and forever! Nevertheless, I am fully confident that the golden days can come back so long as everyone tries his best to protect natural environment from today on. And the fact is that what I expect is not just a dream. There are some sweet fruits from the early efforts.

1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?

A．Causes of sandstorms.	B．Measures to prevent sandstorms.
C．Harms done by sandstorms.	D．Areas disturbed by sandstorms.

2. How many ways do some experts put forward to fight against sandstorm?

A．5

B．4

C．3

D．2

3. What can we infer from the text?

A．The damage sandstorms cause can never be avoided.

B．The author has confidence in fighting against sandstorms.

C．The author is unsure about the future of the environment.

D．The improvement of the environment is especially relaxing.

4. What will the author probably write about in the following part?

A．Why people should always carry on with dreams.	B．Successful examples of stopping sandstorms.
C．A bright world with no sandstorm any more.	D．How to realize our dreams to live a happy lite.

【推荐1】Survey after survey indicates that one of our biggest worries in retirement is running out of money. More than a third of retired investors and half who aren’t retired said they worry they will run out of money and be forced to depend on Social Security as their main income source, according to a Wells Fargo-Gallup survey.

You might think that it would make people save more. But few of us even know how much we need to save for a comfortable retirement. However, one way people can feel better about retirement is to start out with as little debt as possible. And that leads us to a question many financial planners are asked by pre-retirees: Should you pay off that mortgage(房贷) before you retire? Unlike many areas of retirement planning, there is no easy answer to this question. The simplest answer is: It depends.

“It’s very dependent on the actual individual,” says Jimmy Lee, chief executive of the Wealth Consulting Group in Las Vegas. “The people who have more reliable sources of income may be more suited to carrying a mortgage,” he says. “Interest rates are a big factor. In today’s low-interest environment, it would make sense to carry a mortgage if your mortgage rate is under 4 percent and you can get an investment rate of 6 percent.”

Mitch Katz, financial adviser and partner at Capital Associates in Bethesda, says having that mortgage paid off helps some people sleep at night. “It’s kind of an emotional thing more than a financial thing,” Katz says. “At the end of the day, financially it makes more sense to not pay off the mortgage. But that’s easy to say in theory and harder in practice.”

“We can control only what we can control,” he says. “You can go to the gym and eat healthy, and walk outside and get hit by a bus. We can’t control that. But, paying off a mortgage, it gives you the ability to pay off other things. Emotionally, it’s very powerful.”

1. How will those depending on Social Security probably feel?

A．Proud	B．Awkward
C．Hopeful	D．Ignorant

2. What benefit might worry in retirement bring?

A．It may result in more savings.	B．It leads to a wiser investment.
C．It will reduce the mortgage greatly.	D．It ensures a comfortable retirement.

3. What’s Jimmy Lee’s advice for those carrying a mortgage?

A．Ask financial planners for suggestions.

B．Pay off the mortgage before retirement.

C．Seek new investment opportunities after retirement.

D．Balance the mortgage against the investment return.

4. What does Mitch Katz’s answer focus on?

A．Interest rates	B．Mental burden
C．Social changes	D．Financial theory

【推荐2】Darrell Blatchley，a marine biologist and environmentalist based in the Philippine city of Davao，received a call from the Philippine，Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources(渔业与水产资源局) early Friday morning reporting a death of a young whale.

When the necropsy(尸检) was performed，Blatchley told NPR，he was not prepared for the amount of plastic they found in the whale’s stomach.“It was full of plastic nothing but nonstop plastic，” he said.“It was filled to the point that its stomach was as hard as a baseball.That means that this animal has been suffering not for days or weeks but for months or even a year or more，” Blatchley added.

Blatchley is the founder and owner of the D’Bone Collector Museum，a natural history museum in Davao.In the coming days，the museum will display all the items found in the whale’s system.Blatchley and his team work with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and other organizations to assist in rescue and recovery of marine animals.

“Within the last 10 years，we have recovered 61 whales and dolphins just within the Davao Gulf，” he said.“Of them,57 have died due to man whether they took plastic or fishing nets or other waste，or gotten caught in pollution—and four were pregnant.”

Blatchley said he hoped that the latest incident would launch the issue of plastic pollution in the Philippines and across the globe.“If we keep going this way，it will be more uncommon to see an animal die of natural causes than it is to see an animal die of plastic，” he said.

1. What can be inferred from the second paragraph?

A．The whale was starved to death.

B．Blatchley was shocked at what he found.

C．The dead whale must have swallowed a baseball.

D．Blatchley didn’t make preparations for the necropsy.

2. What will be shown in the D’Bone Collector Museum?

A．Waste collected from the ocean.

B．The whole system of the whale.

C．Things found in the whale’s body.

D．Many different tools of whaling.

3. What is the best title for the text?

A．A Whale Found Dead of Plastic

B．Stand Up for Protecting Whales

C．Plastic Threatening Our Existence

D．Natural Death or Merciless Murder

【推荐3】China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope(FAST)has detected a repeating fast radio burst(FRB)-mysterious radio signals from outer space-for the first time, Science and Technology Daily reported.

Scientists on the FAST project with the National Astronomical Observatories of China(NAOC)revealed the news last Wednesday. The FRB originated some three billion lightyears away from Earth. Other factors including aircraft and satellites have been dismissed and cross examination is being carried out, the scientists said.

FRB has since become one of the hottest topics in astronomy. It was not until 2007 when the first FRB was discovered by humans. Fewer than 100 FRBs have been detected internationally. There is still no reasonable explanation for the origin of FRB in the international scientific community at present. FRBs mostly only appear once, which makes them very hard to track.

The FRB detected by FAST's real-time detection terminal(终端), however, is one that has been observed before, said Zhang Xinxin, an assistant engineer with the NAOC. Known as FRB121102,it was first discovered in 2012 and found to repeat in 2015.Analysis of data later located the source of the signal coming from a dwarf galaxy(矮星系) three billion light years away. The first pulse from FRB121102 was spotted by FAST on Aug 30 2019.After this, the telescope recorded dozens of pulses from the FRB over the course of days. On Sept 3 2019 alone, more than 20 pulses were detected.

The number of mysterious bursts detected so far is too small to draw any conclusions, Zhang said. FAST, the world's largest single-dish radio telescope, has a certain edge in detecting repeated FRBs. This is because the 19-beam receiver installed on FAST, covering frequency ranges of 1.05-1.45 GHz, is very sensitive to radio signals, Zhang said.

1. The whole text mainly gives us an introduction to________.

A．a brief introduction of FAST.	B．a discovery of FAST
C．the validation of FAST	D．the usage of FAST

2. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．FRB121102 is the first fast radio burst that was discovered by humans.

B．The FRB detected by China's FAST this time has not been observed before.

C．FRBs mostly only appear once, which makes them very hard to track.

D．We can infer that billion-light year is a term of time in astronomy.

3. Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope(FAST)/_______

A．is the world's largest radio telescope

B．has detected more than 100 FRBs

C．found reasonable explanation for the origin of FRB

D．has been installed with the 19-beam receiver

【推荐1】There are plenty of reasons why people go to the library. People go there mainly for school, for work, or for personal research. There are a few who make use of the library only when specific data or information can’t be had by any other means. No matter what your motivation for visiting the library is, you’ll surely want to set your eyes on the following four largest libraries in the world

Washington D.C.’s Library of Congress

If you’ve already watched the movie National Treasure 2, then you’ve already taken a glimpse of this magnificent library. Within this library, you’ll find all you need to answer your questions about culture, science, philosophy, history, and any other subject matter. It has been used in numerous movies. With a vast book collection at over 30 million and written in just about any language you can think of,   the Library of Congress, established in 1800, definitely deserves all the fame. The public can visit the library, but only high-ranking American officials are allowed to check out books.

Beijing’s National Library of China

Situated in Beijing and with 26.3 million books in its collection, the NLC is sure to give joy to the average bibliophile(藏书家) . Among its books, you’ll find the world’s greatest and richest complications of Chinese writings and ancient documents. Founded in 1909 and opened doors to the public three years after, the NLC also contains a lot of Qing Dynasty writings as well as a collection of literature written on bones and tortoise shells.

Massachusetts’ Harvard University Library

Compared to all the other libraries in universities in the world, Harvard University Library houses the most enormous private collection of books. Established in 1638, the Harvard Library is considered as America’s oldest. In 1764, a disastrous fire broke out and it turned a considerable number of books into ashes. Today, the library has a total of over 13 million books displayed in 90 library wings, each dealing with a particular field of study.

London’s British Library

When it comes to the number of items in its collection, the British Library , founded in 1973, is unparalleled. It has over 150 million items, a lot of which are works circulated in the United Kingdom. The library also has scores of items from other countries and has books written in a number of languages. You will also discover that these works can be found in formats ranging from stone inscriptions(刻印文字) to digital publications. The growth rate of the British Library is 3 million pieces per year.

1. Which library has the longest history?

A．Washington D.C.’s Library of Congress

B．Beijing’s National Library of China

C．Massachusetts’ Harvard University Library

D．London’s British Library

2. Which library has frequently appeared in numerous movies?

A．Washington D.C.’s Library of Congress

B．Beijing’s National Library of China

C．Massachusetts’ Harvard University Library

D．London’s British Library

3. It can be inferred from the passage that________.

A．there exists the largest number of books in London’s British Library.

B．people are free to check out books in Washington D. C.’s Library of Congress

C．Beijing’s National Library of China was open to the public the moment it was founded

D．Massachusetts’ Harvard University Library remained safe and sound because of the fire in 1764

【推荐2】Human Environments Photo Contest

Time: It will run from September 1st through December 31st,2020.
Theme: Human Environments—How to protect our living environments
Introduction: Throughout history, humans have learned how to build custom environments to meet both their private and public lives, and have progressively perfected such spaces to adjust to their increasing needs. In 2020, how do our man-made environments look and what do they say about the contemporary societies we live in?
Categories: “Single Image” for single photographs; “Series” for full projects
Who can enter: Open to all students in the world.
Entry fee: $10 for a single entry
Prizes: The 1st prize winner will receive $100 in CASH and a gold medal.
The 2nd and 3rd prize winners will each receive $50 in CASH and a silver medal.
Contest Rules:
(1) Submitted photo (s) must be your original creation！
(2)Your photo (s) should not be larger than 8.5x 11 in size.
Image requirements: jpg format; at least 1440px wide; 300dpi is preferable, but 72dpi will work as well.

Online submission of digital photographs is via the website. If you’d like to participate in the “Single Image” category, you can send a maximum of 3 images. If you’d like to enter the “Series’ category, you should send a selection of 10-15 images from the same project.

Copyright: Full ownership of the copyright for every submitted image remains with its author. You can grant(授予) FotoRoom the possibility to use the submitted images on its website.
Digital Submissions: If your photo is digitally created, then you should follow these two steps:
(1)Fill out this entry form and click to submit.
(2)Then you MUST email your file to art@ photocontest. com.
Mail Submissions: If your photo is on paper or any other non-digital format, then mail your entry form and artwork to: SAVE THE FROGS!
P.O. Box 78758 Los Angeles, CA90016 the USA
1. What can we know about the contest？

A．All people can take part in it.	B．It lasts for a few months in 2020.
C．Its theme is about environment pollution.	D．There is only one category for the contest.

2. Students who want to participate in the contest________.

A．must pay the entry fee	B．must be good at photographing
C．must be active in protecting the environment	D．should hand in their photos before September 1st

3. What will happen if a participant wins the first prize？

A．He will receive $100 and two medals.

B．He will receive$100 and a gold medal.

C．He will lose his ownership of his prize-winning work.

D．He will see his prize-winning work at art＠photocontest.com.

4. The photos students use to participate in the contest________.

A．can’t be over 3 images	B．must be 8.5 x 11 in size
C．should be their original work	D．have no limit in the number

5. The digitally created photo________.

A．must be 1440px wide	B．has a high chance to win
C．is not allowed to be competed	D．has a different submitting way from photos on paper

【推荐3】People who live in Iceland are proud of their country and their origin. Complete independence from Denmark after World War II resulted in the country's fast development. They refuse to permit immigration(移民) though the country has a small population. Their attitude to foreigners is friendly but reserved(保守) .

The Icelanders regard themselves as one big family. Most of them earn their living by farming and people' hopes are centered on the land and its soil. Typical for rural Iceland are the isolated valley farms against mountains. Cultivated grassland stretches out from the buildings.

They mainly raise sheep and cattle. In spring, flocks of sheep are driven to mountain grassland and allowed to wander freely over the summer. When autumn puts its first mark on the mountains, the sheep are rounded up and driven down.

As in all countries where winter and darkness take up most of the year, the center of life is the home. The houses of Iceland were once built of wood, but now cement (水泥) is used in towns and stones in the countryside. During the long winters the Icelanders rarely go out of the house. When they must go out, they put raincoats over their heavy woolen overcoats and furs to keep out the damp.

1. What can we learn about the Icelanders from Paragraph 1?

A．They like friendly foreigners.

B．They take pride in their own country.

C．They are satisfied with their large population

D．They are proud of their original country, Denmark.

2. What do most Icelanders live on?

A．Farming	B．Sheep and cattle
C．Cultivated grassland	D．Plants near the mountains

3. What can we learn from the last two paragraphs?

A．Iceland is cold and damp.

B．The houses are built of wood nowadays.

C．The Icelanders like to live in the center of their houses.

D．Different kinds of animals can be seen on the mountains.

4. It can be inferred from the passage that the best time in Iceland is                  .

A．winter and spring	B．summer and autumn
C．autumn and winter	D．spring and summer

5. What is the passage mainly about?

A．The history of Iceland	B．The rich life in Iceland
C．The development of Iceland	D．The special way of life in Iceland