Tokyo — Manuscript Writing Cafe only allows writers on a deadline, and won’t let them leave until finished.
“The Manuscript Writing Cafe only allows in people who have a writing deadline to face!” owner Takuya Kawai tweeted. “It’s in order to maintain a level of focus and tense atmosphere at the Cafe! Thanks for your understanding.”
The Cafe charges customers by time used (it operates at a rate of 150 yen or $1.32 per 30 minutes), and is equipped with USB ports, computer stands, and free Wi-Fi. Struggling writers can also bring their own food and drinks since coffee and water are the only things available, but it’s pretty strict when it comes to the actual writing. Although the Manuscript Writing Cafe actually accepts a wide range of writers, from translators and copywriters to novelists and proofreaders, the rules are the same for everyone.
When entering the Cafe, customers must write down how many words they plan to write and by what time they plan to finish. Every hour, the staff will check on their progress and apply a predetermined pressure level to help move things along. For example, opting for the “S” course will have the staff more aggressively pushing you to get the work done, while the “M” course involves a more mild approach. However, the craziest rule of the Cafe is that writers are not allowed to end their session until reaching their declared goal or until the place closes down for the day. It’s not clear how the Café enforces this rule, but it is meant to keep customers from declaring ambitious targets they won’t be able to meet.
While some found it amazing, others said it was too much pressure. “If it were me, I would no longer be able to leave the store and would end up having to live there,” one person commented.
1. Which word can best describe the Cafe?| A．Relaxing. | B．Unique. | C．Academic. | D．Conventional. |
| A．Jenny, whose job is to edit advertising materials. |
| B．Tom, who is interested in reading some proofs of documents. |
| C．Peter, who translates messages from one language to another orally. |
| D．Mary, who is accustomed to writing her novels without any pressure. |
| A．To explain a rule. | B．To present a fact. |
| C．To make a comparison. | D．To clarify a concept. |
| A．Customers hold negative attitudes towards the Cafe. |
| B．Writers can leave the Cafe only when they get the work finished. |
| C．Customers must write down how many words they plan to write. |
| D．The Cafe staff may discourage the customers from setting unachievable goals. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Can you imagine the bad guy Megatron (威震天) chatting non-stop about small household affairs with a human being? Well imagine no longer as Universal Studios Beijing’s newest “employee,” Megatron himself, has earned social media fame on Chinese platforms such as Sina Weibo and Douyin for doing just this.
Searches for videos featuring the giant Transformer have increased. as Chinese netizens enjoy seeing him joke and amuse visitors at Universal Studios Beijing. “It must be a comedian who was from some stand-up comedy club and took a part-time job at Universal Studios,” one Sina Weibo user commented, representing the voices of many others.
Visitors who have had the chance to enter the park have recorded many videos of their experience and recommending interesting sights to netizens, who have been eagerly waiting to try out the park for themselves.
“Why are you alone here? Where is your boyfriend? Why did he stand so far away? Does he refuse to tell others about your relationship?” Megatron says in one video clip as he talks with a young woman standing in front of him to take pictures.
The Megatron suit is actually quite complicated. The performer wears the mechanical armor(盔甲)and interacts with the outside world via a remote control with a voice-changing microphone, according to 36kr.com.
The popularity of Megatron online has made many people more interested in visiting the park. “When I visited the Universal Studios during the weekend, there was a huge line of visitors waiting to take photos and talk with Megatron in the Transformers section,” a Beijing father of a 3-year-old boy said.
Many people who are still waiting to get into the park have said that the robot will be their first stop. “He is so different from the bad guy image in the movie. He’s cute.” a university student who has been won over by Megatron’s charm noted.
1. What do we know about the Megatron in Universal Studio Beijing from the passage?| A．Tourists are scared of its bad guy image. |
| B．It is a part-time comedian from a stand-up comedy club. |
| C．People who didn’t visit the park don’t know about Megatron. |
| D．Its personalities are different from those in the movie Transformers. |
| A．It likes talking with young women. |
| B．The Movie Transformers is of great popularity. |
| C．It is very entertaining and approachable to the visitors. |
| D．Its armor and voice are cool with full sense of technology. |
| A．Humorous. | B．Enthusiastic. | C．Appreciative. | D．Delightful. |
| A．A science fiction. | B．A travelling column. | C．A movie magazine. | D．A TV interview. |
【推荐2】We look forward to welcoming you to The Metropolitan Museum of Art! The following events are open to exploration.
Member Morning Hours
Every Thursday, 9 am-10 am
Every Thursday morning, just before the Museum opens to the public, Members are invited to experience the newest exhibitions at the Met without the crowds. Members are also invited to bring guest (s). Timed Tickets are not required for entry.
Storytime at the Met— Back to School
Every Tuesday, 10: 30 am-11 am
Read, listen, sing, and have fun with Storytime! Join us every Tuesday for picture-book readings connected to objects in The Met collection. This month’s theme is Back to School. Recommended for families with children ages 18 months to 6 years.
Free; Museum admission is not required. Note: Space is limited; first come, first served.
Art History Study Group -Text and Image in Ancient Egypt
Wednesday, September 7, 2022,5 pm-5: 30 pm
Expand your knowledge of art history through virtual introductions to core themes and close examination of Met objects with Museum experts. In this session, join us for an in-depth discussion about the relationship between text and image in ancient Egypt.
Fee: $40. Please note: This live event takes place on Zoom. Space is limited; advance registration is required. Registration closes Tuesday, September 6, 2022, or when registration is full.
Discoveries -Color !
Sunday, September 11, 2022,11 pm-12:30 pm
For kids with learning and developmental disabilities and those on the autism spectrum. Join us for an in-person workshop to talk about and make art!
Free, though reservations are required. Space is limited.
1. Which event is held online?| A．Member Morning Hours. |
| B．Storytime at the Met. |
| C．Art History Study Group. |
| D．Discoveries —Color. |
| A．They can be allowed entry at any time. |
| B．They can help organize the newest exhibitions. |
| C．They can attend events without advance registration. |
| D．They can bring guests to the museum before it opens. |
| A．Admire exhibits. |
| B．Read picture books. |
| C．Make themed art objects. |
| D．Learn about art history. |
【推荐3】Introduction
Blenheim Palace is one of the Europe’s largest and greatest palaces. It was built between 1705 and 1722 as a reward of the British government to John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, for defeating King Louis XlV's army at Blenheim, a small Bavarian village on the Danube River. The palace was designed by Sir John Vanbrugh, which displayed strength and arm glory. It is the largest non-royal building in England and is now listed by the UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
Winston Churchill
In 1874, the palace was the birthplace of the duke’s most famous descendant. Winston Churchill, who was to become the UK’s Prime Minister (some would say Britain’s greatest 20th-century politician ) and Nobel prize winner for literature. It is also in Blenheim that Winston got married to Clementine Hozier in 1908.
A lasting exhibition is devoted to the man’s life, work and writings. Winston and his wife are buried in Bladon Church within the palace.
Opening Hours & Admission
Blenheim is still the home of the 11th Duke of Marlborough and is therefore not open all year round (although the park is). The palace opens its doors to visitors from 12 February to 11 December. Entry to the palace, park and gardens cost £11,50 during the low season and £13 during the peak season (Easter weekend and from 28 May toll September), or £6/£8 for the park and gardens only.
The park is open all-year round from 9am to 4:45pm (last entry). Admission is £2,50 for adults and £1.50 for children.
Note that numerous discounts exist for seniors, students, children and groups. Please refer to the official website for more details.
1. What can be learned about Blenheim Palace?| A．It is the Europe’s largest and greatest palaces. |
| B．It is the largest royal building in England. |
| C．It is now one of the world’s heritage sites. |
| D．It was built in honor of Prime Minister Winston Churchill. |
| A．A house keeper. |
| B．A child or a child’s child. |
| C．A family doctor |
| D．A grand parent |
| A．They are too busy to afford the time. |
| B．Repairs are badly needed for the palace. |
| C．Some seasons are not convenient for visitors. |
| D．The 11th Duke of Marlborough still lives there, |
【推荐1】The Chinese version of TikTok, called Douyin (抖音), has amassed (积累)400 million daily active users, parent company ByteDance revealed in its annual report this week. This is an impressive growth for the addictive(上瘾的) video app, which had 250 million daily active users in January last year.
The report, which describes the user behavior and trends, illustrates (表明) the cultural difference between China and the U. S. , said Katherine Wu, an investor at New York-based firm Notation Capital. “Things that trend in these two countries are quite different. For example: knowledge-based content is extremely popular in China, and less so in the U. S. Also, this was wild to me: those creators that did the most dance videos in China are users born in the 60s , while in the US, it seems that it’s mostly teenagers who are creating the dances,” she wrote.
ByteDance claimed (宣称) that Douyin has established itself as the largest knowledge, culture and art platform in China. (Douyin is only available in mainland China.) Indeed, 14. 89 million “know ledge-based content videos” were shared on the app last year, it claimed.
1. According to the annual report, how many active users can Douyin amass in one day?| A．14. 89 million | B．250 million | C．400 million | D．150 million |
| A．extremely popular | B．more popular than that in China |
| C．less popular than that in China | D．as popular as that in China |
| A．A Chinese woman who was born in the 60s. |
| B．An American woman who was born in the 60s. |
| C．A Chinese teenager who was born in the 90s. |
| D．An American teenager who was born in the 90s. |
| A．An annual report of Douyin. | B．The Difference of Douyin in China and the U. S. |
| C．A Great App for people of 60s. | D．An Addictive App-Douyin. |
Sara tried to befriend her old friend Steve's new wife, but Betty never seemed to have anything to say. While Sara felt Betty didn't hold up her end of the conversation, Betty complained to Steve that Sara never gave her a chance to talk. The problem had to do with expectations about pacing and pausing.
Conversation is a turn-taking game. When our habits are similar, there's no problem. But if our habits are different, you may start to talk before I'm finished or fail to take your turn when I'm finished. That's what was happening with Betty and Sara.
It may not be coincidental that Betty, who expected relatively longer pauses between turns, is British, and Sara, who expected relatively shorter pauses, is American. Betty often felt interrupted by Sara. But Betty herself became an interrupter and found herself doing most of the talking when she met a visitor from Finland. And Sara had a hard time cutting in on some speakers from Latin America or Israel.
The general phenomenon, then, is that the small conversation techniques, like pacing and pausing, lead people to draw conclusions not about conversational style but about personality and abilities. These habitual differences are often the basis for dangerous stereotyping (思维定式). And these social phenomena can have very personal consequences. For example, a woman from the southwestern part of the US went to live in an eastern city to take up a job in personnel. When the Personnel Department got together for meetings, she kept searching for the right time to break in --- and never found it. Although back home she was considered outgoing and confident, in Washington she was viewed as shy and retiring. When she was evaluated at the end of the year, she was told to take a training course because of her inability to speak up.
That's why slight differences in conversational style --- tiny little things like microseconds of pause --- can have a great effect on one's life. The result in this case was a judgment of psychological problems --- even in the mind of the woman herself, who really wondered what was wrong with her and registered for assertiveness training.
1. What did Sara think of Betty when talking with her?
| A．Betty was talkative. |
| B．Betty was an interrupter. |
| C．Betty did not take her turn. |
| D．Betty paid no attention to Sara. |
| A．Americans. | B．Israelis. | C．The British. | D．The Finns. |
| A．communication breakdown results from short pauses and fast pacing |
| B．women are unfavorably stereotyped in eastern cities of the US |
| C．one's inability to speak up is culturally determined sometimes |
| D．one should receive training to build up one's confidence |
【推荐3】For years when lobstermen found sea urchins (海胆) in their lobster (龙虾) traps, they would break them underfoot. That was before Japanese buyers realized that urchin could produce some of the most delicious food on earth. It turned out that there was value in something long ignored.
The fight to feed a world of perhaps 10bn by mid-century is being fought. It demands great drop in the amount of food wasted and farming that make sure of long-term soil fertility (肥沃) at the same time as increases in production. It will also be helped by filling in some of the gaps in the food system: things ignored. There are foods ignored in some places which other places and cultures prize — such as sea urchins.
Filling in the gaps in the world’s food web requires giving up some tastes and preferences. Consider the insect. Around 1,900 species are eaten around the world, according to the FAO. Fifty years ago, most Western diners didn’t eat uncooked fish; today you can get sushi at supermarkets. In time insects may become the popular delicious food people would like. It is not just sushi that once turned up noses—potatoes and tomatoes did too. Tastes change over time.
What will a popular menu from 2021 look like to people in 100 years? They may pity dining choices limited to a small number of living creatures—no fried, giant crickets (蟋蟀).
1. What did lobstermen think of sea urchins in their lobster traps at first?| A．They are something annoying. |
| B．They are tasty with rich nutrition. |
| C．They are valuable but long ignored. |
| D．They are always found in the lobster trap. |
| A．treasure | B．hate | C．overlook | D．require |
| A．A large decrease in wasted food. |
| B．Foods routinely ignored in some places. |
| C．Filling in the gaps in the current food web. |
| D．Soil fertility with improvement in production. |
| A．All the people will take a fancy to fried, giant crickets. |
| B．A popular menu from 2021 will remain popular in 100 years. |
| C．The fight to feed a world of perhaps 10bn is hard to succeed. |
| D．More insects are likely to be on the menu to feed people in the world. |
