Suddenly screams echo through the forest as alarmed animals warn each other of a predator’s (食肉动物) approach. Lying on my stomach with my camera in front of me, I’ve been watching a nearby stream for hours, waiting. This may be it!
Yes! A 380-pound lioness steps from the trees, heading towards the stream. She crouches (蹲伏) down to drink. She’s only 50 yards away. She stands up and begins to walk towards me, not knowing I’m there. When she’s just about 20 yards away, I move my camera slightly. I don’t want to shock or panic her. She freezes for a moment, then take a crouching position and continues towards me. I’m thinking, “Uh-oh, I’m about to become cat food!” I’ve approached lions before, but now the lion approaches me.
If I stand up and yell, will she leave? Maybe not. If I stand up and run, will she chase me? Probably! So I decided to stay put.
The lioness comes closer. Now she’s only about four yards from me—the closest distance that still allows me to focus my camera lens. Surprisingly, she lies down, posing like a statue in front of me. This makes me feel very small and humble (卑微的). Then she rolls over and looks at me upside down! She seems a little puzzled and appears to be trying to figure me out —Hmm, are you suitable to be eaten? You don’t look dangerous.
Breathe slowly, I remind myself, with my heart beating fast. I carefully back up my tripod (三脚架) just a bit to focus and shoot the picture. Suddenly, she leaps up. In a flash, she runs away, leaving me overwhelmed with emotion.
Getting this photograph took a long time. I spent two years waiting for a permit to track the extremely rare Asiatic lions in the Gir Forest of India and spent three months on foot searching for them. The experience felt like a gift from the forest.
1. After coming close to the author, the lioness ________.A.pretends to be dead |
B.stays and then goes away |
C.tries to find the moment to attack him |
D.recognizes the author and stares at him. |
A.He used to live in the forest. |
B.He stops working when he sees the lioness. |
C.He makes great efforts to get the photograph. |
D.He congratulates himself upon his narrow escape. |
A.step forward | B.stand up |
C.stay still | D.put off |
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【推荐1】We were sitting in her classroom, giggling each other and talking about the latest information of the day. Mrs Virginia De View, whose physical appearance made her an easy target for snickers (窃笑) and cruel jokes among students, cleared her throat and asked us to be silent.
“Now, Mrs.” Virginia De View said smiling, “we are going to discover our professions.” The class seemed to be greatly surprised. We were only 13 and 14 years old!
“Yes, you will all be searching for your future professions.”she said.
“You will have to do a research paper on your upcoming career. Each of you will have to interview someone in your field, plus give an oral report.”
Finally, I picked print journalism, and interviewed a true-blue newspaper reporter in the flesh. After a few days, I gave my oral report totally from memory in class. I got an A on the entire project.
Years later, I forgot all about Virginia De View and the careers we selected. I was in college looking around for a new career. but with no success. Then I remembered Virginia De View and my desire at 13 to be a journalist. And I called my parents. They didn't stop me. They just reminded me how competitive the field was. This was true. But journalism did something to me; it was in my blood. For the past 12 years, I've had the most incredible and satisfying reporting career .
I get asked all the time: “How did you pick journalism?”
“Well, you see, there was this teacher...” I always start out. Virginia Deview will probably never know without her help, I would not have become a journalist and a writer. I wonder now how many other students benefited from that career project.
I believe that when people reflect back over their school days, there will be their very own Virginia De View. Perhaps you can thank her before it's too late.
1. What did the students think of Mrs Virginia's project in her class?A.Harmful | B.Crazy |
C.Beneficial | D.Flexible |
A.Career planning | B.Oral ability |
C.Paper research | D.Interviewing skills |
A.He keeps in touch with Mrs. Virginia. |
B.He practiced as a journalist in college. |
C.His parents were against his decision. |
D.He enjoys working as a journalist |
A.To express gratitude to Mrs. Virginia. |
B.To give an oral report on selecting a career. |
C.To show challenges he me as a reporter. |
D.To look for his previous classmates. |
【推荐2】Like many old people, Hazell Jacobs has spent most of the past few months alone. A mini-stroke (小中风) forced her to begin self-isolating (自我隔离) earlier than most, and as the country went into lockdown, she realised she might need something to kill time.
One morning, she opened her wardrobe (衣橱) and pulled out boxes and boxes of scarves. Hazell has hundreds of them, collected throughout her life over decades spent travelling the world with her late husband Godfrey, a land surveyor who died in 2004, and whose work took them from Hong Kong to California. Each scarf is woven with memories. Hazell began to write the stories behind these scarves. “I’ve had a very interesting life, with a lot of adventures, and there were sad things, too,” says Hazell.
With the help of her granddaughter, Ella, who volunteered to take care of the technical side of things, Hazell started Scarf Aid, a blog designed to see her through the months of isolation. Quite unexpectedly, she soon attracted followers from all over the world. After The New York Times featured her blog, her readership shot up to more than 3,000.
If Hazell is to be believed, she has done all this for her granddaughter, Ella. “It’s really about finding something that Ella can do with me.” Speaking to Ella over the phone from Manchester, where she is in her final year studying graphic design, it’s clear the feeling is entirely mutual (相互的). “It’s been such a positive experience for me as well as her. The bond between us has grown so much stronger,” she says.
Hazell has many more scarves to go through and more stories to go with them. She hopes, that one day Scarf Aid — which weaves deeply personal stories with accounts of historical events — might be seen as a memoir. “Maybe my scarf collection will be a historical thing for a museum or something? But I suspect my kids will want some of the scarves,” she says.
1. Why did Hazell begin writing stories of scarves in the first place?A.To honour her late husband. | B.To expand her blog’ s readership. |
C.To pass the time in self-isolation. | D.To encourage her granddaughter. |
A.Eventful. | B.Lonely. | C.Boring. | D.Peaceful. |
A.It has improved her technical skills. |
B.It has brought her closer to her grandmother. |
C.It has given her inspiration for her graphic design. |
D.It has helped her make a name for herself at school. |
A.It will attract more followers. | B.It will become a record of her life. |
C.It will record stories of other people’s scarves. | D.It will become a part of a museum’s collection. |
【推荐3】Pablo Picasso was born on October 25 in Malaga, Spain in 1881. Taking after his father, Picasso shared a passion (热爱) for painting and art. Even though he wasn't the best student in school, Picasso excelled at drawing. Noticing his amazing talent, Picasso's father, an artist, taught him everything he knew. Before long, Picasso could paint and draw much better than his father. With this rich talent, Picasso paid less and less attention to his schoolwork and spent the majority of his day sketching and drawing in notepads and sketchbooks.
When he was a little bit older, Picasso moved twice and was accepted into two fine art programs. However, he didn't care very much for the special techniques they taught and often wandered the streets by himself drawing the scenes around him. After moving to these two places, Picasso moved back home to Barcelona and decided that he would develop new techniques of art and painting based on what he saw.
Later, Picasso decided to move to Paris, France, where he began perfecting his own techniques of painting, drawing and other forms of art. His drawings, paintings and art included pieces about sadness, poverty, classics and self-portraits. One of his major types of work is called cubism (立体派), which includes art with all sizes of geometric shapes together on the piece of art. This type of art is very important because no other artists had come up with the idea before. Picasso decided to try something new, and as a result, cubism is widely accepted today as a classic style of art.
Picasso inspires us to be always thinking. He tells us to think outside the box and come up with fresh new ideas that can change the world. He surely plays an important role in the art field.
1. What do we know about Picasso as a student at school?A.He shared a passion for his schoolwork. |
B.He was very proud of his paintings. |
C.He showed great talent for drawing. |
D.He was often praised by his teacher. |
A.He encouraged Picasso to do better at school. |
B.He felt angry at Picasso for his laziness. |
C.He asked Picasso to finish his work on time. |
D.He tried his best to help Picasso. |
A.He show no interest in them. | B.He thought highly of them. |
C.He was curious about them. | D.He was concerned about them. |
A.Picasso decided to go to Paris to sell his drawings. |
B.Picasso has greatly changed the world a lot. |
C.Picasso is a highly creative and influential artist. |
D.Picasso can do anything he wants to. |
【推荐1】“Everything happens for the best,” my mother said whenever things weren’t going my way. “Don’t worry. One day your luck will change.”
Mother was right, as I discovered after I had finished my college education, I had decided to try for a job in radio. One day, I wanted to host a sports programme. I went to Chicago and knocked on the door of every station. But I got turned down every time.
In one station, a kind lady said my problem was that I hadn’t got enough experience. “Get some work with a small station and work your way up,” she said.
I went back home. I couldn’t get a job there, either. Then my dad told me a businessman had opened a store and needed someone to help him. But again, I didn’t get the job.
I felt really down. “Your luck will change,” Mom said to me. Dad lent me the car to help me to look for my job. I tried another radio station in Lowa. But the owner, a nice man, told me he had already had someone.
As I left his office, I asked, “How can someone be a sports announcer if he can’t get a job in a radio station?”
I was waiting for the lift when I heard the man call. “What did you mean? Do you know anything about football?” He put me in front of a microphone and asked me to try to imagine that I was giving my opinion on a football game, I succeeded.
On my way home, Mom’s words come back to me, “One day your luck will change, Son. And when it happens, it’ll feel doubly good because of all the hard work you’ve had.” At that moment I knew just what she meant.
1. What’s the writer’s ideal job?A.A sportsman. | B.A shop assistant. | C.A sports announcer. | D.A businessman. |
A.But I was refused every time | B.But I was successful every time |
C.But I lost my way every time | D.But the door of every station was always closed |
A.Mother’s Words. | B.Everything Happens for the Best. |
C.No One Is Always Lucky. | D.To Find a Job in Radio Is Difficult. |
【推荐2】My family lost everything in the little-known flood of Baton Rouge, Louisiana last year that the Red Cross called the “Worst US disaster since Hurricane Sandy.”
It began raining in mid-August. Then it rained some more, got more powerful, and didn’t stop for days. There was talk that the local rivers were going to crest (到达顶点)and cause some pretty serious flooding. We lived somewhat close to the Amite River, but our senior neighbors told us that our neighborhood hadn’t flooded in over 100 years.
Local news said that the nearby high school may get a little bit of water inside from the rising river. We thought we had a couple of days to plan on how we were going to shelter in place because of the weather forecast.
On the 13th of August I woke up, walked outside and headed toward the direction of the river. Some of the lower areas were collecting water but there was no standing water anywhere near my house or even my neighborhood. I went back home and told my wife we should probably get some supplies in case this got serious; that maybe we should even pack a car in case we needed to leave though I was fairly certain there was nothing to worry about.
About 30 minutes into slowly packing there was a loud banging on my front door. It was my wife’s cousin. I opened the door and she said, “What are you doing?! Get out of the house!” I looked behind her and noticed my entire yard underwater and the waterline only about a half-inch from going over my doorstep and into my house.
I was floored. The river wasn’t supposed to crest until the next day. I thought we had more time.
I yelled at my wife, “We have to get out of the house. Now!”
We packed up both our cars in about 10 minutes with only our most precious memories. Everything else we had built during a 10-year marriage was left behind. We evacuated about 5 miles east away from the river to my wife’s grandmothers.
After being there for about an hour someone came to the front door and said, “You guys ned to get out. The river is coming.”
Sure enough, her yard was flooding too.
We evacuated a second time in as many hours to her cousin’s house even further east. After only an hour we were told again that the river was on the way and we had to leave.
1. The author realized the arrival of the flood when ______.A.the rain started to fall heavily and non-stop |
B.the nearby high school was slightly affected |
C.there was standing water in some lower areas |
D.he was informed by his wife’s cousin at the door |
A.He was clam enough to cope with the flood. |
B.He became trapped by the rising floodwater. |
C.He was shocked by the early arrival of the flood. |
D.He lost his temper with his wife for being unprepared. |
A.He didn’t take action immediately despite his neighbor’s warning. |
B.He trusted the weather forecast so that he prepared himself in advance. |
C.He and his wife brought some supplies and valuable belongings with them. |
D.He was forced to leave the temporary homes again and again to avoid danger. |
A.Mutual Support in Disasters | B.Baton Rouge Flooding |
C.How to Survive a Flood | D.Methods of Predicting Floods |
【推荐3】For the past few years, I’ve taken my vacation in the spring. One April I planned to visit a friend in Nepal who had lived in the country for over 15 years.
I flew into Kathmandu and spent a week visiting sites, and on Friday, April 24, 2015, we went to Lukla, a mountain town to the northeast. My friend had worked there before. We visited a nearby village on Saturday. We were served a delicious pancake and endless cups of milk tea; villagers made small talk and caught up with each other. After a couple of hours, my friend and I made a polite exit (离去) for a coffee break across the dirt path to our lodging, a house he had lived in while working in Lukla years ago.
As we sat in the kitchen taking a rest, I wondered why it felt like an underground was running under the village. As the sound started to shake, I looked out the window at the passers-by and thought it felt like a truck was driving by — impossible in this village. I looked at my friend and he said offhandedly: “It’s an earthquake.” Before I could ask questions, he began shouting to get out of the house. By the time I was running down the dirt path, I couldn’t run straight.
Away from buildings, we lowered our bodies near a low wall, and unbelievably before our eyes, walls and buildings fell. In front of us the end wall of the house we slept in collapsed (倒塌), the stones dislodging (移开) and falling to the ground. In a matter of seconds, every house in the village was damaged (损坏), with walls either seriously cracked (破裂), or partially or completely damaged.
In the days and weeks that followed we checked in with friends and shared stories of where we were and what we were doing. The event was so wide-reaching that it was difficult to understand except through personal stories.
1. What did the author do in Nepal?A.He visited his friend. | B.He tried to look for a job. |
C.He built a house for villagers. | D.He moved to a village to enjoy life. |
A.Shy. | B.Bored. | C.Friendly. | D.Humorous. |
A.excitedly | B.worriedly | C.suddenly | D.immediately |
A.He was injured by a collapsed wall. | B.An earthquake struck the village. |
C.A truck drove by the village | D.He missed the train. |
A.It was left empty. | B.It was quite peaceful. |
C.It was badly damaged. | D.It was attractive to visitors. |
【推荐1】Any 25th birthday is a cause for celebration. But it was even more so for Janus, a two-headed Greek tortoise (龟). Living in the Natural History Museum of Geneva, Switzerland, Janus is now believed to be the world’s oldest two-headed tortoise. The museum celebrated the special occasion with a day-long party filled with fun events, which included taking photos with the birthday “boy”.
In the wild, Greek tortoises can live up to two hundred years in their natural habitat. However, two-headed tortoises, like Janus, usually do not survive for that long. Unlike normal tortoises, they are unable to take back their two heads into their shell, making them highly easy to be attacked.
Janus, who has spent his entire life in the museum, faces no such danger. But life is not without challenges for the two-headed tortoise who also has two hearts and two pairs of lungs. Each head controls the front and back legs on its side of the body. The right head is more curious and more awake. The left head is more passive and loves to eat. This can lead to confusion when the two heads decide to go in different directions. To make matters worse, the two heads frequently rub against each other, resulting in skin sores (溃疡). Janus also has a hard time rolling back onto his feet when he accidentally turns over. If left on their backs for too long, tortoises can get sunburned, dehydrated (脱水的) and even die.
Fortunately, Janus has a special caregiver, Angelica Bourgoin, to make sure he lives a long and healthy life. The tortoise receives a daily massage and is bathed in green tea and flower water. He eats a special diet of organic fruits and vegetables, keeps active with walks, and rides on his skateboard. With such loving care, the two-headed tortoise will surely continue to break many more records for long life.
1. Why is it hard for two-headed tortoises to survive in the wild?A.They can’t avoid biting each other. | B.They can’t find enough food to eat. |
C.They can’t hide from their enemies. | D.They can’t run as fast as normal ones. |
A.In a pet store. | B.In the museum. |
C.In the ocean. | D.In Bourgoin’s home. |
A.The death of thirst. | B.Different decisions. |
C.The pain on his skin. | D.Two halves of body. |
A.Terrible. | B.Free. | C.Easy. | D.Boring. |
【推荐2】We had to put our Belgian sheepdog Shadow to sleep yesterday. He was hands down the worst dog I have ever had—not so much a superdog as a superbad dog. For the first two years of his life, we worked relentlessly to train him to do the basic things. He balked at all of it. When made to lie down, he would roll his back and cry out as if he were being beaten. If pushed too hard, he would bite — never to draw blood, but enough to let you know who was in charge.
Frustrated, we sent him to a professional trainer, who took him into his home to work with him one-on-one. After the agreed-upon two weeks of training, the handler called and sheepishly asked for another two weeks with Shadow, free of charge, as he had been unable to make any progress. In another two weeks, we got the same phone call. So, after six weeks, the dog trainer returned our dog with apologies, stating that this was the first dog that he’d ever deemed untrainable. Shadow appeared quite pleased with himself.
For all of his 13 years, Shadow bested us, allowing us the privilege of living in his home. On his last day, my daughter commented, “Mom, I know he doesn’t feel good because he is not growling at me when I kiss his face.” That was him. Shadow was a genius. How else could he have compelled us to love the worst dog.
1. Shadow would bite when we push him too hard ________.A.to make us bleed | B.to beat us | C.to train him | D.to show dissatisfaction |
A.Because he wanted to work with Shadow. |
B.Because he wanted to charge more money. |
C.Because he failed to train Shadow well within the agreed time. |
D.Because Shadow was quite pleased with himself. |
A.He didn’t like being trained. |
B.He spent twelve weeks altogether with the trainer. |
C.He became the first dog that the trainer failed to train. |
D.He would growl at our daughter when she kissed him. |
A.naughty and intelligent | B.friendly and trainable |
C.unkind and untrainable | D.superbad and disobedient |
【推荐3】They waited patiently for what seemed a very long time, stamping in the snow to keep their feet warm. At last they heard the sound of slow shuffling footsteps approaching the door from the inside. It seemed, as the Mole said to the Rat, like someone walking in slippers that were too large for him and down at heel, which was intelligent of Mole, because that was exactly what it was.
The door opened a few inches, enough to show a long snout and a pair of sleepy eyes.
“Now, the very next time this happens,” said an angry voice. “Who is it this time, disturbing people on such a night? Speak up!”
“Oh, Badger,” cried the Rat, “let us in, please. It's me, Rat, and my friend Mole, and we've lost our way in the snow.”
“What, Ratty, my dear little man! ”exclaimed the Badger, in quite a different voice. “Come along in, both of you, at once. Why, you must be very cold. Lost in the snow! And in the Wild Wood, too, and at this time of night!”
The two animals got inside, and heard the door shut behind them with great joy and relief.
The Badger, who wore a long dressing gown, and whose slippers were indeed very down at heel, carried a flat candlestick in his paw and had probably been on his way to bed when their voices sounded. “This is not the sort of night for small animals to be out,” he said kindly. “Come along; come along; come into the kitchen. There's a first-rate fire there, and supper and everything.”
He shuffled on in front of them, carrying the light, and they followed him down a long narrow passage into a large fire-lit kitchen.
The kindly Badger helped them remove their wet coats and boots, and brought them clothes and slippers. In the comfortable light and warmth, warm and dry at last, it seemed to the storm -driven animals, now in safety, that the cold and trackless Wild Wood just left outside was miles and miles away, and all that they had suffered in it was a half-forgotten dream.
1. What happened to Mole and Rat?A.They visited Mr. Badger. | B.They got lost in the forest. |
C.They walked to keep warm. | D.They looked for food to eat. |
A.He thought his slippers was too large and down at heel. |
B.He heard someone stamping in the snow to keep their feet warm. |
C.He hated being bothered on his way to bed in a freezing cold night. |
D.He knew Mole and Rat lost their way in the cold and trackless Wild Wood. |
A.He has a heart of gold. | B.He is strict with himself. |
C.He is as good as his word. | D.He has a mind of his own. |
A.Mole and Rat are grateful to Mr Badger. |
B.Mr Badger didn't pay attention to his appearance. |
C.Rat had thought the slippers were too large to Mr Badger. |
D.Mr Badger helped Mole and Rat to get their gratitude. |