Languages are renewed (更新) by people, stories and topical events everyday. The same situation goes with English. Although English is not as old as Chinese, it is spoken by many people around the world every day. English speakers are always creating new words, and we are often able to know where most words come from.
Sometimes, however, no one may really know where a word comes from. Did you ever think about why hamburgers are called hamburgers, especially when they are not made with ham? About a hundred years ago, some men went to America from Europe. They came from a big city in Germany called Hamburg. They did not speak good English, but they ate good food. When some Americans saw them eating round pieces of beef, they asked the Germans what it was. The Germans did not understand the question and answered, “We come from Hamburg.” One of these Americans owned a restaurant, and had an idea. He cooked some round pieces of beef like those which the men from Hamburg ate. Then he put each between two pieces of bread and started selling them. Such bread came to be called “hamburgers”. Today “hamburgers” are sold in many countries around the world. It became the signature dish in fast food restaurant such as McDonald and KFC. The word and the food spread widely in the world.
Whether this story is true or not, it certainly is interesting. Knowing why any word has a certain meaning is interesting, too. This reason, for most English words, can be found in any large English dictionary. Others lie in the words of mouth of folks from different countries.
1. What can we learn about English in the first paragraph?| A．English has the same history as Chinese. |
| B．English has a larger vocabulary than other languages. |
| C．English vocabulary is in the continuous development. |
| D．It is difficult to know where a new English word comes from. |
| A．A city in Germany. | B．A round piece of beef. |
| C．A kind of fast food. | D．The name of a village. |
| A．Where all the new words come from. |
| B．Where those Germans came from. |
| C．The reason why a word has a certain meaning. |
| D．The reason why English is spoken around the world. |
| A．The European. | B．The British. | C．The Germans. | D．The Americans. |
| A．Creative English Speakers | B．Interesting Origin of English Words |
| C．The Beginning of Hamburgers | D．Americans’ Love of Hamburgers |
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【推荐1】With the increase in cross-country marriages, many Australian children are growing up with other languages spoken at home. Actually, it’s not just in Australia. In many countries, more and more children grow up speaking two, if not three or more languages. Thus, we know it is possible to learn more than one language from a young age. We also know that children are much better at learning another language than adults. But many parents have a common question. Should they speak to their children in their first language, or try to speak to them in the second language?
Some older studies have reported that bilingual(双语的) children learn language more slowly and have smaller vocabularies than others of the same age. Parents of bilingual developing children felt worried when they saw these reports. But these studies are doubtable. They haven’t taken schooling and parental income into consideration, both of which heavily influence language outcomes.
Recently some new studies focus mainly on the advantages of being bilingual. It appears that repeatedly switching from one language to another will exercise the brain. Bilingual children will particularly ignore unrelated information and keep unnecessary reactions under control. That makes the process of learning new rules much faster.
Some new Australians have no choice but to speak to their children in their native language. While learning English is quite necessary, connections to family cultural backgrounds are also important. Through the native language, children can better understand their parents’ native culture. Happily, being bilingual appears to be good for the cross-cultural communication.
1. What is the shared concern of many parents from bilingual families?| A．The schedule of training courses for children. |
| B．Their family members’ different living habits. |
| C．Their children’s losing interest in language learning. |
| D．The choice of the spoken language in the family’s daily life. |
| A．They used a lot of outdated data. |
| B．They were not done in Australia. |
| C．They ignored some influential aspects(方面). |
| D．They were not supported by scientific evidence. |
| A．focus on certain things. |
| B．have more confidence in playing games. |
| C．show their strong family backgrounds. |
| D．lead a better life in the future. |
| A．Remind parents of their homeland. |
| B．Bring economic benefits to parents. |
| C．Connect children to their family’s original culture. |
| D．Help children develop the habits of following rules. |
“Have a nice day. Next!” This version(版本) of the expression is spoken by a salesgirl at the supermarket who is rushing me and my groceries out the door. The words come out in the same tone with a fixed procedure.They are spoken at me, not to me. Obviously, the concern for my day and everyone else’s is the management’s attempt to increase business.
The expression is one of those behaviors that help people get along with each other. Sometimes it indicates the end of a meeting. As soon as you hear it, you know the meeting is at an end. Sometimes the expression saves us when we don’t know what to say. “Oh, you just had a tooth out? I’m terribly sorry, but have a nice day.”
The expression can be pleasant. If a stranger says “Have a nice day” to you, you may find it heart-warming because someone you don’t know has tried to be nice to you.
Although the use of the expression is an insincere, meaningless social custom at times, there is nothing wrong with the sentence except that others who speak it without thinking may not really care about my day. But in a strange and comfortable way, it’s nice to know they care enough to pretend they care when they really don’t care all that much. While the expression may not often be sincere, it is always spoken. The point is that people say it all the time when they like.
1. How does the author understand Maxie’s word?
| A．Maxie really wishes the author a good day. |
| B．Maxie shows her anxiety to the author. |
| C．Maxie encourages the author to stay happy. |
| D．Maxie really worries about the author’s security (安全). |
| A．The salesgirl is rude. |
| B．The salesgirl is bored. |
| C．The salesgirl cares about me. |
| D．The salesgirl says the words as a routine(惯例). |
| A．express respect to you |
| B．give his blessing to you |
| C．try to be friendly to you |
| D．share his pleasure with you |
| A．Have a nice day—a meaningless expression |
| B．Have a nice day—a Heart-warming Greeting |
| C．Have a nice day—a Social Custom |
| D．Have a nice day—a Polite Ending of a Conversation |
【推荐3】New York City. Freelance
The KidPass blog is created by contributions from awesome freelance writers who work from home, and are excited to share their experiences and recommendations for kids’ activities around New York City! KidPass is flexible, so it allows parents like us to spend more time with their kids and work from home or anywhere they like, while building a great resource of recommendations for other parents.
We are hiring freelance writers who can contribute articles to our blog. We pay you for each article that we accept or approve starting at $20 for short articles and $100+ for longer articles with original research, photos, and videos.
If you enjoy being a parent “in the know”, researching new kids’ activities online, or going around your neighborhood to visit new kids’ centres, indoor play spaces, events, or classes, then KidPass could be great for you!
About you:
*Possess a friendly, confident writing style.
*Work from wherever you want.
*Able to explore kid classes and activities in your neighborhood.
*Take photos and videos if you are interested in writing longer research pieces for us.
*Prompt in communication, responsible and able to meet deadlines.
To apply, submit the following:
*Two writing samples that have not been published elsewhere and not been copied.
*For one sample, please include a list/ round-up of five local kids’ classes for a certain age group in your neighborhood.
*For the second sample, please include a single review of one of the kids’ classes/activities and include pictures.
*Submit these by email and include a brief introduction to yourself.
1. What do we know about the KidPass blog?| A．It has a lot to do with children’s activities. |
| B．It offers much advice on how to raise kids. |
| C．It teaches parents to design kids’ games online. |
| D．It encourages parents to accompany their kids more. |
| A．the history of the KidPass blog |
| B．the tips on writing good articles online |
| C．the importance of communicating with kids |
| D．the requirements of working as a freelance writer |
【推荐1】Climate breakdown threatens to cause a global food production crisis. The UN forecasts that by 2050, feeding the world will require a 20% expansion in global water use for agriculture. It is hard to see how agriculture can feed the population of the planet, let alone toward the end of the century and beyond. Agriculture is a major cause of climate breakdown, and both river and air pollution. Industrial fishing is similarly driving ecological collapse in seas around the world.
However, at this critical time, farming (a new kind of food technology) is creating astonishing possibilities to save both people and the planet. Farming will enable the return of vast areas of land and sea to nature, greatly reducing carbon emissions (排放物). It means an end to the employment of animals, a stop to overfishing, and a dramatic reduction in cutting down forests and the use of pesticides (杀虫剂). It is the best hope for stopping the destruction of the planet and, if it is done right, it means cheap and abundant food for everyone.
We are about to welcome one of the biggest economic transformations, of any kind, for 200 years. Arguments continue about plants against meat-based diets; however, new technologies will soon make these arguments irrelevant. Before long, most food will come neither from animals nor plants, but from micro-organisms (微生物).
Not only will food be cheaper, it will also be healthier. Due to the fact that farming creates food products built up from simple components rather than broken down from complex ones, hard fats and other unhealthy components can be screened out. Meat will still be meat, but it will be grown in factories rather than in the bodies of animals. Fats will still be fats, but food is likely to be better, cheaper and much less damaging to the living planet.
1. What is the major cause of sea ecological breakdown?| A．Food production. | B．Global farming. |
| C．Industrial fishing. | D．Climate breakdown. |
| A．Its benefits. | B．Its security. | C．Its research. | D．Its limits. |
| A．Sea animals. | B．Wild plants. | C．Micro-organisms. | D．Farm products. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Positive. | C．Disapproving. | D．Unclear. |
【推荐2】“High tech” and “state of the art” are two expressions that describe very modern technology. High tech is just a shorter way of saying high technology. And high technology describes any invention, system of device that uses the newest ideas or discoveries of science and engineering.
What is high tech? A computer is high tech. So is a communication satellite. A modern manufacturing system is surely high tech.
High tech became a popular expression in the United States during the early 1980’s. Because of improvements in technology, people could buy many new kinds of products in American stores, such as home computers, microwave ovens(微波炉), etc.
“State of the art” is something that is as modern as possible. It is a product that is based on the very latest methods and technology. Something that is “state of the art” is the newest possible design or product of a business or industry. A state of the art television set, for example, uses the most modern electronic design and parts. It is the best that one can buy.
“State of the art” is not a new expression. Engineers have used it for years to describe the best and most modern way of doing something.
Millions of Americans began to use the expression in the late 1970’s. The reason was the computer revolution. Every computer company would say that its computers were “state of the art”.
Computer technology changed so fast that a state of the art computer today might be old tomorrow. The expression “sate of the art” became as common and popular as computers themselves. Now all kinds of products are said to be “state of the art”.
1. What is the purpose of the passage?| A．To tell how “high tech” and “state of the art” have developed. |
| B．To give examples of high tech. |
| C．To tell what “high tech” and “state of the art” are. |
| D．To describe very modern technology. |
| A．American stores could provide new kinds of products to people. |
| B．High tech describes a technology that is not useful. |
| C．“State of the art” is not as popular as “high tech”. |
| D．A wooden plough pulled by animals is “state of the art”. |
| A．A microwave oven. | B．A home computer. |
| C．A hand pump. | D．A satellite. |
| A．Since the computer revolution, the expression “state of the art” has become popular. |
| B．“State of the art” means something that is the best one can buy. |
| C．With the rapid development of computer technology, a state of the art computer may easily become old. |
| D．All kinds of products are “state of the art” nowadays. |
| A．Computer Technology | B．High Tech and State of the Art |
| C．Most Advanced Technology | D．Two New Products |
【推荐3】Donna Strickland is a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. Professor Strickland is one of the recipients (接受者) of the Nobel Prize in Physics 2018 with Gérard Mourou, her PhD teacher at the time. They published this Nobel-winning research in 1985 when Strickland was a PhD student at the University of Rochester in New York state. Together they paved the way toward the most intense laser pulses ever created.
Professor Donna Strickland is only the third woman ever to have won the Nobel Prize in Physics. She and her fellow winners were honored for what the Nobel Committee called groundbreaking inventions in laser physics. Professor Strickland found a way to use lasers as very precise drilling or cutting tools. Millions of eye operations are performed every year with these sharpest laser beams.
"How surprising do you think it is that you're the third woman to win this prize?"
"Well, that is surprising, isn't it? I think that's the story of Maria that people want to talk about — that why should it take 60 years? There are so many women out there doing fantastic research, so why does it take so long to get recognized?"
Physics still has one of the largest gender (性别) gaps in science. One recent study concluded that at the current rate it would be more than two centuries until there were equal numbers of senior male and female researchers in the field.
The last woman to win the Nobel Prize in Physics was German-born Maria Goeppert Mayer for her discoveries about the nuclei of atoms. Before that it was Marie Curie, who shared the 1903 prize with her husband, Pierre. This year's winners hope that breaking this half century hiatus (间断) will mean the focus in the future will be on the research, rather than the gender of the researcher.
1. Which of the following best explains the underlined word "groundbreaking" in Paragraph 2?| A．Active. | B．Amazing. |
| C．Creative. | D．Interesting. |
| A．She created the most intense laser pulses by herself. |
| B．She supported equality between man and women. |
| C．She discovered the nuclei of atoms with her husband. |
| D．She invented a way of using lasers as cutting tools. |
| A．In 1903. | B．In 1958. |
| C．In 1963. | D．In 1985. |
| A．Women's achievements in physics are as great as men's. |
| B．Women's achievements in physics are more and more fantastic. |
| C．Maria's discoveries resulted from her long time research. |
| D．Gender inequality still exists in the field of science research. |
