People are social creatures and we depend on our relationships with others for our health and happiness. While we can individually make efforts toward slow living, finally we need the support of others and community organizations to be successful. Slow Cities meet this need. Like Slow Food, the Slow Cities movement started in Italy. Its organization is known as Cittaslow, which has spread to about 30 other countries throughout the world since 1999.
Cittaslow has set up 50 goals and principles, which supports communities as they protect the environment and build upon their own special qualities reflecting their historical roots as well as their strong desire or ambition for the future. This is not about nostalgia and following tradition closely; rather it is a call to refuse the forces of the same types that result in every place looking and feeling like every other place. By gathering together with others who share the same opinions or interests, we can start to include new projects to further improve the quality of life in our communities by using our imagination.
The basic part of Slow Cities is the idea that our health and happiness partly depend upon a healthy connection to the people and place where we live. The growing Sunday Parkways movement is just one great example of an activity that combines many of the well-being goals for cities in a fun, healthy, and family-oriented way. The Cittaslow website is designed as a place where ideas like these can be explored and exchanged.
The Slow Cities movement is not just about improving the quality of life of the citizens; it also encourages communities to develop their friendly and generous behavior towards guests, offering them an organized event, for example, a concert, a sporting event so that visitors can go through what is different and special about the area, really learning about the local culture. Slow Cities invite people to slow down so that they can see and connect with the rich diversity of the world where they live as well as the diversity of the world around them.
1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?| A．To show that human beings need social activities. |
| B．To stress that it is necessary to have Cittaslow. |
| C．To prove that the Slow Cities movement is getting popular. |
| D．To explain the relationship between health and happiness. |
| A．Be creative and improve their quality of life. |
| B．Be responsible and reflect on their historical development. |
| C．Be well prepared and try to continue their local customs. |
| D．Be grateful and value the good old days that they have had. |
| A．The activities and community culture. | B．The opinions and childhood education. |
| C．The neighbors and living environment. | D．The experiences and family background. |
| A．stubborn | B．hard-working | C．open-minded | D．strong-willed |
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【推荐1】Have you ever wanted to be healthier? Get a pet! That is what the experts are saying. There are many advantages to owning a pet, no matter whether it is a cat, dog, or horse.
Some new parents are often in a rush to get rid of their pets when a baby is expected. Yet, studies have shown that having a pet at home actually reduces a child’s likelihood of developing certain kinds of diseases. In one study, a researcher studied 300 new-born babies and tested them again a year later. He found that if they had a dog at home the children had up to 33% fewer allergies (过敏症). In addition, the children had stronger immune systems (免疫系统) when compared to the babies of homes with no pets.
In another study, researchers tested nearly 4,500 people. They found that cat owners who spent time stroking (抚摸) their cats suffered 40% fewer heart attacks than those who did not own a cat. Some other studies also found that pet owners suffered less serious from depression (沮丧) than non-pet owners.
Horses have long been used in treatments for disabled people, both physically and mentally. Not only does the movement of the horse help people with physical problems, but the calming influence of the animals has a positive effect on them, too. Amazing changes have been noted in disabled people who are lucky enough to receive these treatments.
From cats to horses, having a pet can really have positive effects on our health.
1. What does the underlined word in the second paragraph probably mean?| A．Degree. | B．Possibility. | C．Opportunity. | D．Decision. |
| A．having a pet at home makes a baby weak |
| B．the children in home without a dog may have strong immune system |
| C．non-pet owners may easily suffer from depression than pet owners |
| D．keeping a pet cat is better than keeping a pet dog |
| A．How to raise a horse. | B．The way of keeping healthy. |
| C．How horses benefit disabled people. | D．How to treat disabled people. |
| A．New parents sometimes refuse to have a pet when they have a baby. |
| B．If you want to keep healthy, do nothing but keep a pet. |
| C．Cat owners suffer more heart attacks than others. |
| D．Horses can cure the problems of disabled people. |
【推荐2】Deserts are dry ecosystems that receive less than 250 millimetres of rainfall a year on average. Here are the world’s several big deserts.
Antarctic Desert
Antarctica is, on average, the coldest, windiest and driest of all the world’s continents. With an average annual rainfall of just 166 millimetres along the coastal regions and even less farther inland, it meets the standard of a desert. The continent has only plants that can live in a region so cold and dry.
Australian Desert
The Australian desert consists of ten interlinked smaller deserts. Together, they cover 18 percent of the mainland and contribute to making Australia the world’s second driest continent. The deserts are far from deserted, populated by native animals like kangaroos.
Arabian Desert
The Arabian Desert covers the entire Arabian Peninsula and contains the Rub’al-Khali, one of the world’s largest continuous bodies of sand. Bedouins, the native people, have crossed these sands for centuries, driving sheep, cattle, camels and goats into the desert during the rainy winter season and moving back toward farmland during the dry summer months.
Kalahari Desert
Strictly speaking, the Kalahari doesn’t meet the standard of a desert as its wettest regions can receive more than 500 millimetres of rain in very wet years. However, it remains extremely dry. Rain filters(渗入)rapidly through the vast expanses of sand, leaving nothing on the surface. The evaporation (蒸发) rate is twice as great as the rainfall in the southwestern half of the Kalahari. The desert is home to several important national parks and reserves, providing shelters for various species.
1. Which desert is made up of smaller deserts?| A．Antarctic Desert. | B．Australian Desert. | C．Arabian Desert. | D．Kalahari Desert. |
| A．They are on the move. | B．They are good at growing plants. |
| C．They come from Australia. | D．They benefit from local tourism. |
| A．It has enough rainfalls. | B．It covers a big area | C．It is poorly protected. | D．It dries up quickly. |
【推荐3】The iPhone, the iPad: each of Apple’s products sounds cool and has become a fashion. Apple has cleverly taken advantage of the power of the letter “i” —and many other brands are following suit. The BBC’s iPlayer —which allows Web users to watch TV programs on the Internet —used the title in 2008. A lovely bear— popular in the US and UK—that plays music and video is called “iTeddy”. A slimmed-down version(简装本) of London’s Independent newspaper was started last week under the name “I”.
In general, single-letter prefixes(前缀) have been popular since the 1990s, when terms like e-mail first came into use.
Most “i” products are aimed at young people and considering the major readers of independent’s “i”, it’s no surprise that they’ve selected this fashionable name.
But it’s hard to see what’s so special about the letter “i”. Why not use “a”, “b”, or “c” instead? According to Tony Thorne, head of the Language Center at King’s College, London, “i” works because its meaning has become ambiguous. When Apple uses “i”, no one knows whether it means Internet, information, individual or interactive, Thorne told BBC Magazines. “Even when Apple created the iPod, it seems it didn’t have one clear definition,” he says.
“However, thanks to Apple, the term is now connected with portability (轻便) .”adds Thorne.
Clearly the letter “i” also agrees with the idea that the Western World is centered on the individual. Each person believes they have their own needs, and we love personalized products for this reason.
Along with “Google” and “blog”, readers of BBC Magazines voted “i” as one of the top 20 words that have come to define the last ten years.
But as history shows, people grow tired of fashions. From the 1900s to 1990s, products with “2000” in their names became fashionable as the year was connected with all things advanced and modern. However, as we entered the new century, the fashion disappeared.
1. People use iPlayer to __________.| A．read newspapers | B．watch TV programs online |
| C．make a call | D．listen to music |
| A．engineers | B．old readers |
| C．fashionable women | D．young readers |
| A．popular | B．clear | C．uncertain | D．unique |
| A．Apple’s products | B．information technology |
| C．the Western culture | D．the Internet |
| A．the popularity of “i” products may not last long |
| B．the letter “b” replace letter “i” to name the products |
| C．fashions don’t necessarily change with time |
| D．“i” products are often of high quality |
【推荐1】California start-up OpenAI has released a chatbot (chat robot) able to answer a variety of questions, but its impressive performance has reopened the debate on the risks linked to AI technologies.
Posted on Twitter by fascinated users, the conversations with the chatbot called ChatGPT show a kind of omniscient (无所不知的) machine, from explaining scientific concepts to writing scenes for a play, university essays or even functional lines of computer code.
“Its answer to the question ‘what to do if someone has a heart attack’ was incredibly clear and relevant,” Claude de Loupy, an expert in automatic text generation told AFP. “When you start asking very specific questions, ChatGPT’s response can be off the mark, but its overall performance remains ‘really impressive’ with a ‘high level’.” he said.
A few years ago, chatbots had the vocabulary of a dictionary and the memory of a goldfish. Now Chatbots are getting much better at the “history problem” where they act in a manner consistent with the history of responses. The chatbots have graduated from goldfish status.
However, like other programs relying on deep learning, ChatGPT has one major weakness: it doesn’t have access to meaning. The software cannot justify its choices, such as explaining why it picked the words that make up its responses.
AI technologies able to communicate are increasingly worrying some observers. They voice concern that these technologies could be misused to trick people. What does ChatGPT think of the risk? “There are potential dangers in building highly complex chatbots, particularly if they are designed to be indistinguishable from humans in their language and behavior.” the chatbot said.
Open AI CEO Sam Altman shared his ideas on the debates surrounding AI. “Interesting watching people start to debate whether powerful AI systems should behave in the way users want or their creators intend,” he wrote, “The question of whose values we adjust these systems to will be one of the most important debates society ever has.”
1. How does paragraph 2 show ChatGPT’s wonderful performance?| A．By using figures. | B．By listing examples. |
| C．By giving definitions. | D．By making comparisons. |
| A．Creative. | B．Inaccurate. | C．Immediate. | D．Objective. |
| A．It has poor memory. | B．It has limited vocabularies. |
| C．It fails to account for its choices. | D．It lacks power to stick to its responses. |
| A．The value that AI follows remains to be discussed. |
| B．Advanced AI should go after creators’ intention. |
| C．The function of AI relies entirely on users. |
| D．Debates on the application of AI are unnecessary. |
【推荐2】In the past months, humans have become quite familiar with the term “social distancing”. But it turns out that we are not the only ones to avoid contacting our peers when our health may be at risk. Research suggests honeybees do it, too. “It’s exciting to see that other animals are doing something analogous,” said Dr. Alessandro Cini, co-author of the research at University College London.
Scientists have found that when a hive of honeybees is under threat from the mite called Varroa destructor, which can cause the collapse of honeybee colonies, the bees will respond by changing the way they interact with one another.
By examining videos recorded inside the hives, the researchers found that when hives had mites, foraging bees performed important dances to indicate the direction of food sources and kept themselves away from the centre of the colony where young bees and the queen stayed. This may help to keep the infection at a level that can be controlled, limiting the amount of damage. “Foragers are one of the main entrance routes for the mites,” said Cini.
The team then carried out experiments in the laboratory, artificially infecting small groups of about 12 young bees with the mites and comparing them to uninfected groups. This time, the team found no increase in social distancing among infected groups which, says Cini, may reflect that it is more important for foragers and young bees to keep their distance when the mites are present, and that bees rely on one another.
“Probably social distancing is too costly on a small scale,” he said. But there were differences in grooming behaviour: Infected bees were groomed more, inspected more, and had food shared with them more than individuals in uninfected groups.
Cini said the study showed the power of natural selection in the evolution of social behavior and also dynamic change in the social behaviour to adapt to an ever-changing environment.
1. What does the underlined word “analogous” in Paragraph I probably mean?| A．Similar. | B．Adventurous. | C．Meaningful. | D．Creative. |
| A．To quickly locate food. | B．To show respect for the queen. |
| C．To minimize the potential risk. | D．To shorten the time to look for food. |
| A．Social distancing happens between infected groups. |
| B．Infected honeybees were given more attention. |
| C．Younger honeybees were safe from infection. |
| D．Honeybees depend on the queen to survive. |
| A．Bees’ behavior when they are under threat. | B．Bees’ communication when they are under threat. |
| C．The social distancing between human and honey bees. | D．The social distancing in honey bees’ world. |
【推荐3】The existing coffee market is dominated by Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora. Unfortunately for them, coffee bushes grow best in a rather narrow range of temperatures, so their cultivation is threatened by a changing climate. But a chance discovery by Aaron Davis from Britain, published in Nature Plants, may offer a way out. Dr Davis and his colleagues report that they have tracked down a type of wild coffee which is both pleasant to taste and tolerant of higher temperatures.
Dr Davis, however, came across a paper written in 1834 by George Don, a Scottish scientist, which described a species from warmer areas. Don named it stenophylla, and wrote that it had a flavour superior to arabica’s, and it was farmed up until the 1920s, after which canephora, which had higher yields, took over. Stenophylla was then gradually forgotten.
The crucial question was, was Don’s praise to its flavour justified? To find out, Dr Davis arranged a competition involving 18 professional coffee tasters who assessed, in a blind comparison, a set of samples that included stenophylla, two types of arabica and one of canephora.
Stenophylla performed well. It was rated as having higher fruitlike qualities than a Brazilian arabica and an Indonesian canephora, and also a more favourable acid ity and more complex flavour profile, though slightly less desired than an Ethiopian arabica. It had nearly the same body as the others, and lacked an unpleasant, earthy bitterness found in the Brazilian arabica and the Indonesian canephora. When asked if what they were tasting was arabica, the judges said “yes” 81% of the time for samples of stenophylla, compared with 98% for the arabica from Ethiopia. They identified the Brazilian arabica as such only 44% of the time, and misidentified the canephora as arabica on7% of occasions.
Stenophylla does taste like arabica and tolerates higher temperatures than either arabica or canephora. That opens two possible courses of action. One is to cultivate it directly, though this might run into the yield problem which led to its abandonment in the first place. The other is to crossbreed it with existing species, to provide those high-yielding varieties with its heat tolerance.
1. What is the purpose of the research into a type of wild coffee?| A．To promote the habit of drinking coffee. | B．To deal with global warming problems. |
| C．To help coffee farmers make more profits. | D．To save coffee production from global warming. |
| A．Ethiopian arabica is more appealing than Brazilian arabica. |
| B．Indonesian canephora tasted best among four types of coffee. |
| C．Stenophylla has less taste of bitterness than two types of arabica. |
| D．Stenophylla has a more favourable acidity than Ethiopian arabica. |
| A．Historical factors. | B．Theoretical bases. |
| C．Statistical analyses. | D．Practical solutions. |
| A．Business. | B．Agriculture. |
| C．Finance and economics. | D．Science and technology. |
【推荐1】Tokyo 2020 Olympic organizers are encouraging people living in Japan to help make the medals for the games by donating(捐赠)their useless smart phones for recycling.It will avoid waste and benefit the environment.
The organizing committee says that it has cooperated with NTT Docomo,a telecommunications giant in Japan,and hopes to collect up to 8 tons of metal from useless electronic devices(设备).
“Tokyo 2020 Olympic medals will be made in order to avoid waste,”said three-time Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast Kohei Uchimura.“I think thereis an important message in this for future generations.”
Collection boxes will be put in more than 2,400 NTT Docomo stores throughout Japan.The organizing committee says that millions of smart phones will be needed to hit the 8-ton target－enough to make 5,000 medals.Collection will stop when the target has been reached.
“The weight of a medal around your neck is always a good weight,”says American former athlete Ashton Eaton,a two-time Olympic gold medalist and world record holder.“And when an athlete at Tokyo wins a medal,the weight of it will not be from the gold,silver or bronze;it will be the weight of a nation.The great project makes me want to come out of retirement and compete for one.”
Previous(先前的)Olympic Games have used recycled metal to make medals,but Tokyo 2020 will be the first to choose materials from useless electronic devices.Organizers claim that all gold medals will be made 100 percent from recycled materials.
“We are asking people to recycle voluntarily,”says Hidemasa Nakamura,the chief financial officer of the 2020 Games.“The idea is recycling and sustainability(可持续),which shows the ideas of the Olympic Movement,it is also about participation.”
1. Useless smart phones are collected because of.| A．the idea to reduce waste |
| B．the demand of many athletes |
| C．the pressure from lack of metal |
| D．the competition from other countries |
| A．Go to the community where you live. |
| B．Visit an NTT Docomo store in Japan. |
| C．Write to one of the public offices. |
| D．Contact the Olympic organizers. |
| A．He will join in the 2020 Olympics. |
| B．He thinks gold medals are very important. |
| C．He focuses on the weight of medals. |
| D．He thinks highly of the recycled medals. |
| A．It will be the first to make medals by recycling metal. |
| B．It will make more medals than previous Olympics. |
| C．It will make medals from recycled electronic devices. |
| D．It will require more volunteers to promote recycling. |
【推荐2】It's amazing how we grow from careless kids to responsible teens. What happens in the course that makes us responsible now? It's the seed that we sow in the beginning which grows and becomes a huge tree. As I sit here, silently thinking about my growth, I wonder over some questions which don't have an answer but it's because of such unanswerable situations that life has become a roller coaster ride.
As a kid, used to read a lot of story books. In one particular book, I read a story of a bird. From then on, that has become an integral(不可少的) part of my life. It described male bird which takes: a lot of pain to build a nest and the female bird takes shelter in it and nourishes the baby. When the bird learns to fly, the whole family flies off to a different place leaving behind the beautiful nest for other birds to grow their family in it. It made me wonder. How could they so easily sacrifice their house built with so much effort?
One night, when I was deep in sleep, I got this particular dream. I was walking miles on the endless road, totally isolated but lined with beautiful trees on the either side. Fascinated by the greenery, I marched towards it only to end up deeper and deeper into the greenery. I happened to stop upon seeing something. It was a massive, wonderful house. I fell in love with that amazing part of art. Yeah, it was indeed a piece of art with every nook and corner touched artistically and lovingly. I don't know why I felt that it was done lovingly. Maybe because, things turn out to be beautiful only when we put our love into it—just like the food prepared by mom which tastes more delicious with her love.
I explored the house only to fall more in love with it. There was a sloping roof which matched with the greenery around; the large central open courtyard reminded me of the activities that might have taken place there which felt lively even now when it is completely deserted. The small water body that kept the house cool added to the beauty of the house—of course, it was all dried up now. It's really wonderful how such things add life to the spaces which otherwise just become structures. Such liveliness and happening turns the house into a home. They say 'THE HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS', but now began to feel it. This is where my heart belongs. This is what I'm destined to do.
When woke up from the dream, I was clear about everything. I realized where that mile of walk was intending me to lead. I realized what message my dream wanted to convey me. And years later, when finally my turn of choosing my destination came, I simply closed my eyes, held that book in my hand, pressed it against my chest and relived the dream. When I opened my eyes, I was sure what to do. I decided to choose the road -less traveled. Yes, I took up architecture as my profession because this is what I am destined to do. I wanted to do the same thing that the male bird in the story did, to take pain in building a beautiful house and let others stay in it. This is my dream come true and the happiness that I gain now from this profession is indescribable.
1. When the writer read the story of the bird, he probably felt .| A．upset | B．confused | C．surprised | D．moved |
| A．the house in his dream | B．his mother's food | C．the story of the bird | D．his story books |
| A．mom cooks with her love | B．we are so familiar with mom's food |
| C．moms are better cooks than fathers | D．mom is experienced in cooking |
| A．how the writer finally becomes an honest citizen |
| B．where the true meaning of responsibility lies |
| C．what we need to do when we are seeking a fortune |
| D．why the writer takes up architecture as his career |
【推荐3】For the past 3000 years, when people thought of money, they thought of cash. From buying food to paying bills, day-to-day dealings involved paper or metal money. Over the past decade, however, digital payments have taken off—tapping your credit card on a machine or having the QR Code (二维码) on your smart phone scanned has become normal. Now this revolution is about to turn cash into an endangered species in some rich countries. That will make the economy more efficient, but it also brings new problems.
Countries are getting rid of cash at different speeds. In Sweden the number of retail cash transactions (交易) per person has fallen by 80% in the past ten years. Cash accounts for just 6% of purchases by value in Norway. Britain is probably four or six years behind it. America is perhaps a decade behind. Outside the rich world, cash is still king. However, in China, digital payments rose from 4% of all payments in 2012 to 34% in 2017.
Cash is dying out because of two forces. One is demand—younger consumers want to enjoy their digital lives with payment systems. But equally important, suppliers such as banks and tech firms are developing fast, easy-to-use payment technologies from which they can pull data and pocket fees.
In general, the future of a cashless economy is excellent news. When cash payments disappear, people and shops are less likely to be stolen. Besides, digitalisation greatly expands the playground of small businesses by enabling them to sell beyond their borders. It also creates a credit history, helping consumers borrow. Yet it is not without problems. Electronic payment systems may suffer technical failures, power blackouts and cyber-attacks. What’s more, in a cashless economy the poor, the elderly and country folk may be left behind.
1. What do we know about digital payments in paragraph 1?| A．They've been used in daily dealings for 3000 years. |
| B．They have become popular in the past ten years. |
| C．They can only be made on the smart phones. |
| D．They are leading to cash's dying out worldwide. |
| A．America. | B．Britain. | C．Sweden | D．Norway. |
| A．Cash payments are less likely to disappear. |
| B．Digitalisation enables small businesses to sell nationally. |
| C．Customers can have their credit history built through digital payments. |
| D．Digital payments may benefit the poor, the elderly and country folks. |
| A．The future of a cashless society. | B．The rising of digital payments. |
| C．The reasons for cash being endangered. | D．The development of payment technologies. |
【推荐1】A perfectly preserved wreck (沉船) that has lain unnoticed in the icy Baltic Sea for over 500 years has finally been confirmed. The European ship was first observed in 2009, when a sonar(声呐) exploration by the Swedish Maritime Administration (SMA) indicated a large object in the area. However, it was not until early 2019 that researchers from Soton and MMT found evidence of the sunken ship using underwater robotic cameras.
When the team observed the pictures of the 60-foot-long shipwreck, they were surprised to discover it was 99 percent complete. The scientists considered that the wreck's good condition is due to its place in the Baltic Seabed, where the oxygen levels are low. Oxygen is key to most ocean life's survival. Therefore, such an environment where the shipwreck stays reduces or completely removes the creatures that feed on rotting wood.
So although this ship is contemporary to the times of Christopher Columbus, it shows a remarkable level of preservation after 500 years at the bottom of the sea. Dr. Pacheco-Ruiz, who led the MMT effort, said,“It's almost like it sank yesterday. It's a truly astonishing sight."
The scientists are unsure what let the ship sink. However, the ship's guns, which are in their"ready to fire" positions, indicate it may have been the victim of a naval battle. Since the ship dates back to the early 16th century, historians predict it may have sunk during Sweden's three year independence war with its Danish rulers between 1521 and 1523. Alternatively, it could also have been involved in the border dispute (争端) between Russia and Sweden from 1554 to 1557.
The ship is by far the best-preserved shipwreck ever found from the Age of Exploration, when Europeans explored the world by sea.
What's more exciting is that the ship is similar to the Pinta and La Nina, which Comlubus famously sailed toward North America. The scientists, who continue to observe the shipwreck hope the boat's design will expose some of the technologies available to the Italian explorer during his 1492 voyage of discovery.
1. What scientific achievement did Soton 's and MMT' s researchers make?| A．Discovering a wreck using sonar. |
| B．Getting the wreck out or icy water. |
| C．Identifying the object found by SMA. |
| D．Making the ancient wreck well preserved. |
| A．It is generally unfit for creatures to live in. | B．It is tough for scientists to do research. |
| C．It contains too many harmful gases. | D．It is filled with rotting wood. |
| A．his curiosity about the time when the ship sank |
| B．his amazement at the ship's previous grandness |
| C．his surprise at the wreck's well-preserved condition |
| D．his shock at the sinking of the great European ship |
| A．The damage to the ship. | B．The causes of the ship's sinking. |
| C．The construction of the ship. | D．The possible function of the ship. |
| A．Recovering the ancient ships, the Pinta and La Nina. |
| B．Finding every aspect of life in the Age of Exploration. |
| C．Exploring the role the ship played in Columbus' exploration. |
| D．Leaning about Columbus' voyage according to the ship's design. |
【推荐2】Our first welcome to Britain wasn’t from the staff of Heathrow Airport or the coach driver who took us to our new city and new home for the next three weeks. It was, in fact, the noisy and energetic seagulls full of songs that flew down to us. When leaving from the plane exits, we still could hear their loud and clear songs through the glasses. It was unbelievable that they lifted our spirits and cheered us up after our stupidly long and awful journey.
These seagulls welcomed us into the new home with open wings. If they could speak instead of merely squawking, I’m sure we would have established some bright and harmonious relationship. They liked to hover overhead around with childlike greetings or just simply walk fearlessly close to our feet. Some of us saved bread our host family prepared for these friends and really enjoyed their company.
But my hostess, Julie, doesn’t think so. Strangely enough, she couldn’t give any reasons. The squawk-proof double-glazing that is closed explains. Perhaps she prefers to sleep with her windows open but she always fails to do that, because those birds seem to enjoy staying up till next morning, doing nothing but scream. And they decide to keep doing so every single night. Furthermore, every time she has to wash the marble floor of the gardens, Julie would look up around, curse the seagulls for droppings and say to me with a sad smile, “They are friendly to you.”
But stop thinking that she hates the creatures and never plans to have a change, because there is another side to her evident feelings towards the birds. Every time we go shopping, Julie never forgets to put a big bag of wild birdseed into her carriage which costs quite more than milks or juices for one week. I can see what it goes for since she refills the wild bird feeder before a big hurry to drive to work every morning and when working she knows what is happening back at home — seagulls are enjoying the seed.
I’m leaving soon and not likely, though I hope not, to get back to see my friends here in England in the future. I said I would miss all friends living here including the seagulls. And when Julie was refilling the feeder again, she said, “They’re nice but they are not my friends.”
1. According to the first paragraph, we can know that ___________.| A．people in Britain didn’t welcome the newcomers |
| B．the seagulls were all the more energetic and friendly than the local people |
| C．the author felt surprised to find seagulls shortly after the plane landed |
| D．the author’s spirits sank at the sight of noisy and stupid seagulls |
| A．A window used to keep noise out. | B．Birdseed used to feed the seagulls. |
| C．A net used for capturing birds. | D．A cage used for keeping birds. |
| A．the seagulls were the source of noise every night | B．her garden became dirty due to the seagulls |
| C．the seagulls were friendly to her guests | D．the birdseeds cost her large amounts of money |
| A．a popular science book about birds | B．a travel brochure for London |
| C．a guidebook on how to feed the birds | D．a magazine about travelling |
【推荐3】A young man went to a town and worked there. He did not have a wife and a servant did the work in his house. The young man liked laughing lot. He nailed（使固定）the servant's shoes to the floor on Monday, and then laughed, because he put his feet in them and fell down. The servant was not angry, but smiled. Then the young man put brushes in his bed on Tuesday. The servant got into bed and hit the brushes with his feet. He was afraid. The young man laughed loudly again. Again the servant was not angry, but smiled. Then on Wednesday the young man said to his servant, "You're a nice, kind man. I am not going to be unkind to you again." The servant smiled and said, "And I'm not going to put any more mud from the street in your coffee."
1. The young man went to a town ________.| A．to study | B．to work | C．to see his relative | D．to spend his holiday |
| A．he hated him |
| B．he was not satisfied with the food the servant prepared for him |
| C．he wanted to get pleasure |
| D．he liked to show off himself |
| A．he liked the young man's' action | B．making the young man laugh is his job |
| C．he was afraid to be fired | D．he thought he shouldn't' be angry with child |
| A．He stole something from the house. | B．He gave a smile to the young man. |
| C．He had a fight with him. | D．He put mud into the young man's coffee. |
| A．Because the servant showed kind and nice behavior to him |
| B．Because the servant told him the truth |
| C．Because he wanted to be a good man |
| D．Because his father told him to do so |
