Throughout the past few years, I have tried lo give myself to others. I have bounced around to find where I truly fit in, I found my place while I stayed in Guatemala, an orphanage (孤儿院) with the children living there. Through hearing many stories of their lives. I was moved to tears and started question my living ways and gave up everything that wasn’t essential: makeup and any other sort of luxury (奢侈品). I lived like they did. It was the most relaxing feeling in the world.
When at Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos, we were given the task of creating a pig pen(猪圈). At first, I thought it should be easy. After arriving at the area where the pig pen should he, we saw a hill. We were told to uproot the weeds as well as level the entire area. Looking at it we felt it would be impossible. On my own faith journey, I have felt this type of doubt before. The "hoe” , as we referred to, is a symbol of my faith journey. It appeared to be an obstacle I could not overcome, but in the end completed it with efforts. I feel this pig pen wasn’t easy to create but was so rewarding to give.
I've always struggled to be on a journey of faith, but I’ve never completely stepped foot onto the path until Guatemala. I’ve always tried to open my heart to everyone around me and give them my love, I feel as though I cut open my heart and share every bit of love I had with these orphans, There is one orphan named Ceto who will always remain very close to my heart, In Guatemala, I sponsor with thirty dollars a month, hat it doesn’t seem enough. I'll return there next summer and give more of my love for a whole month.
When it was time to leave. I looked out of the window and saw not just ordinary children. Over all, the most significant accomplishment I m in Guatemala was stepping towards my own faith journey and not looking back.
1. What resulted in the author ’s decision to live a new life?| A．Desire to help others | B．Decrease in his income |
| C．A knowledge of the orphans' life. | D．Awareness of the difficulty in his life |
| A．Removing the doubt | B．Uprooting the weed. |
| C．Starting the faith journey | D．Creating the pig pen |
| A．It was regretful | B．It was meaningful |
| C．It was interesting. | D．it was frightening |
| A．A Step into a New World | B．An Awful Faith Journey |
| C．A Great Success in Life | D．A Return of Confidence |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Green fingers
It never occurred to me when I was little that gardens were anything less than glamorous places. Granddad’s garden was on the bank of a river and sloped gently down towards the water. You couldn’t reach the river but you could hear the sound of the water and the birds that sang in the trees above. I imagined that all gardens were like this—a place of escape, peace and solitude. Granddad’s plot was nothing out of the ordinary when it came to features. He had nothing as grand as a greenhouse, unlike some of his neighbors. Not that they had proper “bought” greenhouses. Theirs were made from old window frames. Patches of plastic would be tacked in place where a carelessly wielded spade had smashed a pane of glass.
At home, his son, my father, could be quiet and withdrawn. I wouldn’t want to make him sound humorless. He wasn’t. Silly things would amuse him. He had phrases that he liked to use, “It’s immaterial to me” being one of them. “I don’t mind” would have done just as well but he liked the word “immaterial.” I realize that, deep down, he was probably disappointed that he hadn’t made more of his life. He left school without qualifications and became apprenticed to a plumber. Plumbing was not something he was passionate about. It was just what he did. He was never particularly ambitious, though there was a moment when he and Mum thought of emigrating to Canada, but it came to nothing. Where he came into his own was around the house. He had an “eye for the job.” Be it bookshelves or a cupboard—what he could achieve was astonishing.
My parents moved house only once in their entire married life. But my mother made up for this lack of daring when it came to furniture. You would just get used to the shape of one chair when another appeared, but the most dramatic change of all was the arrival of a piano. I always wanted to like it but it did its best to intimate me. The only thing I did like about it were the two brass candlesticks that jutted out from the front. “They’re too posh,” my mother said and they disappeared one day while I was at school. There was never any mention of my being allowed to play it. Instead lessons were booked for my sister. When I asked my mother in later life why I wasn’t given the opportunity, her reply was brief: “You’d never have practiced.”
Of the three options, moors, woods or river—the river was the one that usually got my vote. On a stretch of the river I was allowed to disappear with my imagination into another world. With a fishing net over my shoulder I could set off in sandals that were last year’s model, with the fronts cut out to accommodate toes that were now right to the end. I’d walk along the river bank looking for a suitable spot where I could take off the painful sandals and leave them with my picnic while I ventured out, tentatively, peering through the water for any fish that I could scoop up with the net and take home. After the first disastrous attempts to keep them alive in the back yard, they were tipped back into the water.
I wanted to leave school as soon as possible but that seemed an unlikely prospect until one day my father announced, “They’ve got a vacancy for an apprentice gardener in the Parks Department. I thought you might be interested.” In one brief moment Dad had gone against his better judgment. He might still have preferred it if I became a carpenter. But I like to feel that somewhere inside him was a feeling that things might just turn out for the best. Maybe I’m deceiving myself, but I prefer to believe that in his heart, although he hated gardening himself, he’d watched me doing it for long enough and noticed my unfailing passion for all things that grew and flowered and fruited.
1. When the writer describes his granddad’s garden, he is _______________.| A．proud that his granddad was such a good gardener |
| B．embarrassed that the garden was not as good as others nearby |
| C．indignant that items in the garden were often damaged |
| D．positive about the time he spent in the garden |
| A．He was regretful that his father had not achieved more. |
| B．He was irritated that his father used words he didn’t understand. |
| C．He was sympathetic to the reasons why his father behaved as he did. |
| D．He was grateful that his father had not taken the family to Canada. |
| A．was able to do something by himself |
| B．was able to show how talented he was |
| C．was able to continue his day job |
| D．was able to forget his failure |
| A．He was surprised when it suddenly appeared. |
| B．He was pleased at seeing it in the living room. |
| C．He was angry that only his sister would have piano lessons. |
| D．He was proud that his mother had listened to his advice. |
| A．how much free time he was given |
| B．how beautiful the river was |
| C．how good a fisherman he was |
| D．how carefree his childhood was |
| A．His father did not want his son to be a gardener. |
| B．His father was tired of disagreeing with his son. |
| C．His father had been impressed by his son’s love of gardening. |
| D．His father had been trying to find a job his son would enjoy. |
【推荐2】When my husband and I moved back to the United States years ago, we had been living an adventurous life on a boat overseas. We moved to Maine and fell in love with a piece of land. It came with a huge farmhouse much larger than we needed. We went rapidly from living in an extremely small space on the water with only two bags to a life on land as a family of four in a big house jammed with stuff.
How did we end up with so much stuff? We just didn't see things piling up so quickly. It's an embarrassment of riches. It's an overabundance. And it's burying us.
A couple of weeks ago, going through a pile of books I’d organized, I found my late mother's now-twenty-year-old copy of “Simplify Your Life" by Elaine St. James. I’d read it a number of times, adding my own penciled notes and folding down more pages.
Wondering if St. James wrote other books on the topic, I began an Internet search that led me deeper and deeper into simplicity, and a concept that was new to me, zero waste. I sensed that what was missing from our life, from our home, was emptiness. My house can't breathe, it's no wonder I feel like I can't either.
Now, my husband and I have undertaken an experiment that we hope will lead to a major lifestyle shift for our whole family. I first started to declutter and downsize by cleaning my kitchen. I emptied out my cupboards and drawers. I put everything needed on our dining-room table. Everything else went into a huge bin for sale. My drawers are beautiful now and I’m content to take this step.
Like any new beginning, there are hesitations. But in a few months, we will move into a new house less than half the size of the one we have. Can my two kids adjust to the idea of reducing their two separate rooms to one small shared bedroom with just a few toys? I can see I'm still thinking about what I will lose. But what I hope becomes clearer is what we will gain by letting go.
1. How did the author feel about the life back to the United States?| A．She enjoyed the new spacious house. |
| B．She loved the abundance of materials. |
| C．She complained about owning too much. |
| D．She desired a much richer life. |
| A．To show what a great influence James had on her. |
| B．To advise more people to read James's book. |
| C．To indicate how her late mother liked reading. |
| D．To explain why a simple life counts to everyone. |
| A．recover | B．remove |
| C．prepare | D．escape |
| A．Persuading her kids to live simply. |
| B．Reflecting her hesitations about letting go. |
| C．Questioning her sudden change on life. |
| D．Missing her life on the boat. |
【推荐3】In 1990, during a performance of my stage play, I became preoccupied with one particular member of the audience. While everybody else laughed, there she sat, staring at the floor, with her fingers in her ears. I’ll never forget her look of complete discomfort.
That woman was my mother. Despite the fact I’d established myself as a humorist, my mother never found me or my work particularly funny. She was my hardest critic. “Is Drew really that funny?” she’d ask family members.
To make matters worse, the feeling was mutual (相互的): though our social circle swore that she was humorous, I never saw it. My mother was supposedly very funny in her first language, Anishinaabemowin—an Indigenous (原住民的) language, but alas, I didn’t speak it. At family gatherings, when somebody would say something “funny” in Anishinaabemowin, she’d explain it to me. Sometimes the humour translated. Sometimes it didn’t.
For a while I was convinced I would never make her laugh. Then, in 2005, I succeeded. I had published a book called Me Funny. In it were dozens of essays deconstructing Indigenous humour, along with 50 so-called “Indian jokes” to break up the various chapters. (For instance, “Why do Native people hate snow? Because it’s white and all over our land.”) She laughed hard and declared, “Wow, that was funny!”
In 2009, my mother passed away at the age of 77. During the funeral, in the tears, family member after family member got up and recounted things she had done and said over the years. To my surprise, I found myself laughing. Suddenly I remembered a moment from the early ‘90s, when my mother asked me, completely serious, what “owie” meant in French. I struggled to come up with an answer until I spelled it out in my mind: oui (“yes” in English).
More and more stories about her surfaced. We laughed as we remembered her. I couldn’t see my mother’s forest for my own trees. I wish I could have shared those laughs with her while she was alive, but I’m glad I finally made the connection.
1. What prevented the author and his mother from understanding each other’s humour?| A．Language barriers. |
| B．The author’s unique job. |
| C．Mom’s critical personality. |
| D．Views of Indigenous people. |
| A．He tried to fit in his Indigenous family. |
| B．He recalled amusing moments about mom. |
| C．He wanted to hide his sadness over mother’s death. |
| D．He intended his laugh to make mother rest in peace. |
| A．The author learned from mother a very important life lesson. |
| B．The author failed to relate to his mother from her perspective. |
| C．The author finally understood mother’s sense of humour better. |
| D．The author didn’t write enough humorous books to make mother laugh. |
| A．Am I funny? | B．Why isn’t Mom laughing? |
| C．What’s so funny? | D．Does laughter have an accent? |
Circumstances proved favorable. Mrs. Packletide had offered a thousand rupees (印度卢比) for the opportunity of shooting a tiger without risk or effort, and it happened that an old tiger was frequently coming to a neighboring village at night. He was so old that he couldn’t kill animals in the wild and just satisfied his appetite to the smaller household animals. The villagers were eager to earn the thousand rupees; children were posted night and day in the jungle to watch the tiger, and the cheap goats were left about to keep him from going elsewhere. The one great fear was that he should die of old age before the day of Mrs. Packletide’s shoot.
The great night arrived. A platform had been built in a tree, on which sat Mrs. Packletide and her paid companion, Miss Mebbin. A goat with a loud bleat (咩咩叫) was tied down at the correct distance. With an accurate gun, they waited for the coming of the tiger.
“I suppose we are in some danger?” said Miss Mebbin.
She was not actually nervous about the wild beast, but she was unwilling to perform a bit more service than she had been paid for.
“It’s a very old tiger. It couldn’t spring up here even if it wanted to.” said Mrs. Packletide.
Their conversation was cut short by the appearance of the old tiger. He saw the goat, and lay on the earth for a short rest before attacking.
The gun fired very loudly, and the great yellow beast jumped to one side and then rolled over in the stillness of death. In a moment a crowd of excited villagers appeared on the scene, and their shouting carried the glad news to the village.
It was Miss Mebbin who found that the goat was dying from a bullet-wound, while no wound could be found on the tiger. Evidently the wrong animal had been hit, and the tiger had died of heart-failure, caused by the sudden loud noise of the gun. Mrs. Packletide was annoyed at the discovery; but anyway, she owned a dead tiger, and the villagers, anxious for their thousand rupees, gladly accepted the fiction that she had shot the tiger. And Miss Mebbin was a paid companion. Therefore Mrs. Packletide faced the cameras with a light heart, and her pictures appeared on the newspapers of England and America. As for Loona Bimberton, she refused to look at a newspaper for weeks, and was in a depressed emotion for quite some time.
Mrs. Packletide’s tiger-skin was inspected and admired by the neighbors, and Mrs. Packletide went to the Costume Ball in the character of Diana (狩猎女神).
“How amused everyone would be if they knew what really happened,” said Miss Mebbin a few days after the ball.
“What do you mean?” asked Mrs. Packletide quickly.
“How you shot the goat and frightened the tiger to death,” said Miss Mebbin, with her unpleasant laugh.
“No one would believe it,” said Mrs. Packletide, her face changing color1 rapidly.
“Loona Bimberton would,” said Miss Mebbin.
Mrs. Packletide’s face settled on greenish white. “You surely wouldn’t give me away?” she asked.
“I’ve seen a weekend cottage near Dorking,” said Miss Mebbin, “six hundred and eighty. Quite a bargain, only I don’t happen to have the money.”
Miss Mebbin possessed the pretty weekend cottage. Mrs. Packletide lost interest in animal-hunting.
“The extra expenses are so heavy,” she said to inquiring friends.
1. Mrs. Packletide planned to shoot a tiger because she ________.
| A．would leave India safer | B．hated the wild animal |
| C．admired her good friend | D．disliked a certain person |
| A．eat their goats | B．kill their kids |
| C．die of old age | D．attack them at night |
| A．A platform in a tree | B．A paid companion. |
| C．An accurate gun. | D．A safe shooting. |
| A．The old tiger was shot to death. |
| B．Neither the tiger nor the goat was shot. |
| C．The old tiger missed being shot. |
| D．Both the goat and the tiger were shot. |
【推荐2】On the outside, 12-year-old Luna seems like your average kid. It’s not until you get to know her that you learn that Luna is anything but average.
Born with a heart defect (缺陷) called dextrocardia, Luna has had three open-heart operations and continues to go for her interests in art and fashion. But when Luna was approached by athletic shoe company Saucony to design a shoe for sale across the country, it came as quite a surprise.
“This is so incredible. I got to use my art and creativity for something new that I’d never thought I’d be able to design,” Luna said. She is one of six patients from Boston Children’s Hospital (BCH) who have partnered with Saucony to design their own shoes to launch the Shoes with Soul Movement.
“Rather than just a donation, we wanted to create an experience and a moment that would not only raise money, but also awareness to highlight all the amazing work that’s being done at BCH,” says Chris, Saucony’s vice president. “Specifically, we wanted to give some of the BCH kids an opportunity to share their story and their talents with the world.”
Luna’s design is fashion. “On the tongue, they digitalized one of my drawings, and then on bottom it’s a really bright pink color, and on the inside, the sole (鞋底) of the shoe is actually another drawing I did of a sunset,” she said. “Thinking about kids everywhere around the world wearing my shoes is amazing. It blows my mind.”
The income from the shoe sales will benefit the Boston Children’s Hospital Cardiac Fitness Program, which encourages kids to “find your possible” through personalized exercise programs designed for each individual patient’s heart condition.
“It feels really good to help people and it’s really something I can relate to,” says Luna. “The advice I would give a kid or someone like me is never to give up. There are a lot of kids out there with your condition and you’re not alone.”
1. Which of the following words can best describe Luna?| A．Passive and horrible. | B．Gifted and determined. |
| C．Creative and serious. | D．Independent and sensitive. |
| A．To seek a fortune. |
| B．To support the disabled in need. |
| C．To emphasize the significance of creating impressive original works. |
| D．To make the world know BCH’s excellent work and BCH kids’ abilities. |
| A．I feel like I’m going crazy. |
| B．I feel a sense of relief. |
| C．I am surprised and overjoyed. |
| D．I feel as if my brain couldn’t function effectively as usual. |
| A．Positive. | B．Doubtful. | C．Indifferent. | D．Objective. |
【推荐3】Last night it was still light out when I returned home from work. My new neighbors and his son were in their favorite place, outside in the yard, playing baseball. The young boy always reports to me how many “home runs” (本垒打) he hits and I always clap and cheer for him.
These guys are special. Where you see one of them, the other is not far away. The dad is always talking with the child face to face, focusing on the child… not talking on a cellphone or walking ahead of the boy so that he has to run to keep up with him. This guy is really great. It warms my heart to see a father and son enjoying each other’s company like they do.
As they were returning to their upstairs apartment, and when the boy was out of earshot (在听力所及范围之外), I asked the dad if his son had a bike. He said no. I wasted no time driving to the store and I was excited as I picked out a bike which all the active kids like. I put the bike, helmet, bike lock and training wheels into my car and I went off.
At home, I took out the bike and carried it upstairs to their apartment and left it outside the door. Not an easy task for a 70-year-old woman! Five minutes later they were at my door, with the boy dancing up and down with excitement, and the dad appreciative. I told the dad that I needed to get rid of a men’s mountain bike that I was storing for a friend and he happily helped me take it off my hands. Now the two of them have another activity they can do together.
I told the dad how proud I was of him for spending quality time with his son. It’s something the boy will remember throughout his life. For me, it’s one of life’s pleasure to see them together.
1. What is the purpose of the author in writing the second paragraph?| A．To tell us that the father and son have a good relationship. |
| B．To tell us that she wants to join them. |
| C．To tell us what game they usually play. |
| D．To tell us that the father is jobless. |
| A．Because she has a lot of money. |
| B．Because she likes to make others grateful to her. |
| C．Because she likes this kind of bike. |
| D．Because she wants to make the father and his child play happily together. |
| A．The author carried the bike upstairs and gave it to the neighbor. |
| B．The father was thankful to the author. |
| C．The author is over 70 years old. |
| D．The boy was surprised. |
| A．Helping others makes yourself happy. |
| B．Where there’s a will, there’s a way. |
| C．Failure is the mother of success. |
| D．No pain, no gain. |
【推荐1】Ford is showing its first all-electric sports utility vehicle, or SUV—the Mustang Mach E, marking a major change in the U. S. car industry. Auto industry reporters got their first look at the new electric vehicle Sunday. The new Mustang can travel from 370 to 480 kilometers before needing an electrical charge(充电). Experts say the Mustang Mach E marks the start of an increase in electric vehicles offered by top U. S. carmakers.
There are 18 electric vehicle models for sale in the U. S. The research group IHS Mark it expects that number to grow to 80 by 2022. New vehicles will include pickup trucks and SUVs that are popular with American buyers.
Last year, electric vehicles made up only 1.5 percent of new vehicle sales worldwide. Auto Industry research company LMC Automotive predicts(预言) that will rise to 2.2 percent this year. In the U. S., electric vehicles were only 1.2 percent of sales in 2019. It is expected to be the same in 2020.
Automakers,however, see room for growth. They note that electric vehicles are getting 250 miles or more on a single charge. That means a buyer no longer needs to worry about running out of power during a day’s usual drive. Because of the added models and increased power, LMC predicts that they will make up 17 percent of worldwide sales and 7 percent of U. S. sales in 2030.
The first-generation of electric vehicles were simply existing models that were changed to electricity to meet government fuel economy rules. They did not sell well largely because they could not travel more than 100 miles between charges. But now, many can go farther than the average one-day driving distance. The five-passenger Mach E looks like a traditional Mustang. Engineers say the least costly model will be able to travel about 370 kilometers on one charge. The most costly model will be able to travel 483 kilometers.
1. What can be known from the first two paragraphs?| A．Americans like pickup trucks and SUVs best. |
| B．There will be more vehicle models to meet customers’needs. |
| C．Ford is the first company to make all-electric sports utility vehicles. |
| D．The long travel distance between charges is the car’s greatest advantage. |
| A．It’s the fastest in the world. | B．It is much below the world average. |
| C．It’s the same as the world average. | D．It hasn’t changed very much. |
| A．By giving examples. | B．By introducing new ideas. |
| C．By making comparisons. | D．By following time order. |
| A．Ford Starts New Electric Vehicles | B．Electric Vehicles Are Better for Environment |
| C．Old Electric Vehicles Will Be Knocked Out | D．Electric Vehicles Will Take Over the Market |
【推荐2】31stOctober —— A team of British explorers has announced they are going to the North Pole to measure the ice cap’s thickness. The exploration will take ground-based readings (仪表的读数) of an ice formation which most scientists agree is shrinking at an alarming rate.
Explorer Pen Hadow’s three-member team will pull a sled-fixed radar device, which measures ice density every eight centimeters, 2,000 kilometers across the Arctic and will produce millions of readings.
They will leave in February, 2008 and will face temperatures of -50℃ on a journey that will take up to 120 days. They have been testing their equipment in Britain and Canada.
Hadow is excited about the prospects (前景), “For the first time we will be able to transmit video images — webcam film of the expedition — as it unfolds so people can track us, and the whole idea is to engage as many people as we can in what we’re doing.”
New fallen snow on top of the ice makes ground-based measurements more accurate than satellite data.
“It has been in the planning stage for a while,” said Hadow. “We spent the last two years developing impulse radar (冲击雷达), which normally is about 100 kilograms and hangs under an aircraft and so on. We’ve managed to get it down to about 4 kilograms. It’s the size of a briefcase and we are dragging it behind the sled as we go.”
The ice cap shrank enough in 2007 so that a pathway through the cap known as the Northwest Passage opened up during the melting of the Arctic summer.
Cambridge University’s Joao Rodrigues explains, “Thickness of the ice cap will determine how much solar radiation will be reflected and the heat exchange between the ocean and the atmosphere and it is thus a vital component (成分) of climate models.”
If warming trends continue, some experts predict that the Arctic Ocean could be ice-free during the summer within a few decades.
1. What would be the best title for the text?| A．Exploration to the North Pole. |
| B．Arctic ice cap shrinking. |
| C．Arctic ice survey announced. |
| D．Ground-based measurements of ice. |
| A．It will be broadcast live on the Internet. |
| B．Explorers will use a sled-fixed radar device. |
| C．Explorers will travel in extremely cold conditions. |
| D．Ground-based measurements are more accurate. |
| A．To measure the ice cap’s thickness. |
| B．To study whether ice will disappear in the Arctic. |
| C．To make a film about the Arctic exploration. |
| D．To make people interested in what they are doing. |
| A．ice in the Arctic will disappear in ten years |
| B．the exploration will last for half a year |
| C．Hadow spent two years developing a kind of radar, which is about 100 kilograms |
| D．if there is snow on ice, satellites can’t measure the ice thickness accurately enough |
| A．the explorers will measure ice density every other centimeter |
| B．people will be able to follow the explorers and see what they are doing |
| C．people could go through the Northwest Passage in the 2007 Arctic summer |
| D．the equipment that Hadow’s team use will be tested in the United States |
【推荐3】For reasons that are deeply rooted in culture and tradition, men significantly outnumber （比... 多）women in mathematics-based careers. As students progress through the mathematics courses, girls and boys show little difference in ability, effort, or interest in mathematics until adolescent years when course and career choices begin influencing school effort. Then, as social pressure increases and career goals are formed, girls' decisions to reduce effort in the study of mathematics progressively cut them off from many professional careers in the future.
Many girls drop mathematics in high school or in the transition to college. Others drop out later. Women perform virtually as well as men in college mathematics courses, but beyond the bachelor’s degree women drop out of mathematics at twice the rate of men. Women now enter college nearly as well prepared in mathematics as men, and 46 percent of mathematics baccalaureates （学士学位）go to women. Despite this record, only 35 percent of the master's degrees and 17 percent of the Ph. D degrees in the mathematical sciences are earned by women.
Overall, women receive approximately one third of university degrees in science and engineering. The highest percentages of women are found in those sciences with the least mathematical prerequisite： psychology, biology, and sociology. The lowest percentages of women enter fields requiring the most mathematics, namely, physics, engineering, economics, geo- science ,and chemistry. Evidence from many sources suggest that it is differences in course patterns rather than lack of ability that matter most in limiting women's access to careers in mathematically intensive sciences.
Widely reported studies concerning the high percentage of boys among mathematical prodigies （天才）---those who at age 12 perform at the level of average college students-often convey the impression that gender differences in mathematics are biologically determined. But evidence from the vast majority of students shows almost no difference in performance among male and female students who have taken equal advantage of similar opportunities to study mathematics. Inferences from very exceptional students——child prodigies—mean little about the performance of the general population.
1. Males and females probably have great difference in the learning abilities of in mathematics when they.| A．enter high school | B．acquire their bachelor’s degree |
| C．enter college | D．acquire their master's degree |
| A．master’s degree in economics | B．doctor's degree in economics |
| C．master’s degree in biology | D．doctor's degree in biology |
| A．boys and girls usually lake unequal advantage of opportunities to study mathematics |
| B．boys are cleverer in mathematics than girls |
| C．gender differences in mathematics are biologically determined |
| D．boys work harder than girls |
| A．Many girls decide to reduce effort in the study of mathematics as social pressure increases. |
| B．Course pattern is the factor that limits women's access to careers in mathematically intensive sciences. |
| C．Women's less interest in mathematics limits their access to some careers. |
| D．More women drop out of mathematics than men beyond the bachelor’s degree. |
【推荐1】Nowadays, we can read almost all “truths” on social media sites. But are they really reliable? Sites such as the micro messaging service Twitter, the social networking site Facebook and the photo-sharing app Instagram might “misrepresent the real world,” according to a study by computer scientists from McGill University and Carnegie Mellon University.
The scientists warn that gathering information about public views and trends from these sites is unwise. There are still large parts of the population who do not take part in social media activities. Also, there's a risk that many social media users are under- represented. Instagram, for example, appeals to younger adults in urban areas while Pinterest is used mainly by females aged 25 to 34. And only 5 percent of Twitter users are over 65 years old, according Io the study.
However, this is not the only issue, according to the scientific team. The design of a website can influence how people behave online, creating what the researchers call “Internet bias.” For example, micro-blogging sites such as Weibo promote “popular” stories. It saves time for some, but it also limits readers' choice of what they see. In the end, many people open those stories and make them more “popular.” But it's not because they choose those stories. Rather, it is because the content is right in front of them.
Besides, it's possible that not everyone on your social networks is real. There might actually be a few fake accounts among them. Fake “bots” pretend to be human and are often included when measuring or predicting human behaviors online.
The findings might be more important than you would think, since many social media studies “are used to inform and justify decisions and investments among the public and in industry and government,” said Derek Ruths, assistant Professor at McGill's School of Computer Science.
If the team is right, you might have to think carefully the next time you say, “It's true, you know; I read it on Weibo.”
1. Why does the author mention Twitter, Facebook and Instagram?| A．Because they are the best social media sites today. |
| B．Because they are not in favor of the current study. |
| C．Because the public are sharing truths on these sites. |
| D．Because information on these sites may not be reliable. |
| A．By giving examples. | B．By making comparisons. |
| C．By dividing into groups. | D．By analyzing cause and effect. |
| A．Ambiguous. | B．Favorable. |
| C．Disagreeable. | D．Cautious |
| A．To analyze why information gathered from social media sites may not be trustworthy. |
| B．To remind readers of things they should watch out for when using social media. |
| C．To point out the advantages and disadvantages of social media. |
| D．To recommend popular social networking sites for readers. |
【推荐2】Queen Rider
Bonnie Wyndham got out of her mother’s car and looked at Almonside School. “I’ll make you sorry I’ve come here,” she told her, pleasantly. Her mother was getting out of the other door at the time so she didn’t hear, but Bonnie wouldn’t have cared if she had. Her mother knew her feelings. Mrs. Wyndham looked about her. Almonside was a funny school, all bits and pieces, buildings hidden away amongst the trees on a wooded hillside; very confusing at first sight. Then she saw the signs on a post: science block, gymnasium, riding centre ...
“Riding centre,” said Bonnie, showing a sudden interest. “Headmaster’s study,” said her mother. “This way.”
Bonnie followed her mother along a broad drive that curved between trees.
“I wish you’d walk beside me instead of following me like a dog,” said Mrs. Wyndham wearily, but she didn’t seem to expect Bonnie to do so.
A few minutes later, her mother was talking to Bonnie’s new headmaster in his study, while Bonnie herself sat and waited outside the door. Suddenly, Bonnie jumped up. “Why should I just it here?” she said to herself. “I’ll be thrown out before very long, anyway,” she said mentally to the door, “so why not get it over and done with?” She left the building and headed for the riding centre in the direction indicated by the sign.
There was a nice old building where the horses were kept, and a large structure for indoor riding. Bonnie looked about her, but there was no one in sight. There was a certain reverence about her manner as she approached the animals. Bonnie treated horses with respect. The horses were very well looked after, she could tell that at once.
Almost every stall was occupied, and she wandered along looking carefully at each horse and judging it. “They know what they’re doing here,” she told a small pony as she ran a finger along its nose. It was the next horse that pulled her up short. “But aren’t you the best of the lot!” she said. He was brown with a touch of white. Lively, probably, but Bonnie liked that. “You know, I have the feeling we’ve met before,” said Bonnie, stroking his neck.
“It was in my dreams and I was riding you to victory in some big competition.” Over the stall was his name: Maverick.
Suddenly, she couldn’t resist the temptation to ride the horse. “I wonder where I can find a bridle for your head, and a saddle for your back. Can’t be far away.” The room containing all the riding equipment was --- Bonnie was delighted to discover --- unlocked. Absorbed in the pleasurable task of putting a saddle on Maverick’s back, she forgot all about her mother and the headmaster. When she sat up high on the big horse outside the building, she felt like a queen, mistress of all she could see. Her nickname at her previous school had been Queen Bee, and she laughed delightedly as she remembered it. You ‘re the best horse I’ve ever sat on, Maverick, ‘ she said admiringly, “and when I say that I’m not kidding, I can assure you, because I know about horses, even if I don t know about anything else.”
She nudged him into a walk, then into a trot. “If I stay here, I think you and I could be great friends,” she confided. She went round and round the paddock. The rhythm was exhilarating, a little breeze whipping smartly past her cheek and making it glow. She could tell Maverick trusted her, and she felt certain that he’d jump well.
1. What do we learn about Bonnie’s mother in the first paragraph?| A．She was used to being obeyed by Bonnie. |
| B．She had a favorable first impression of the school. |
| C．She had difficulty finding her way around new places. |
| D．She was aware of Bonnie’s attitude to her new school. |
| A．excited to recognize a horse she already knew |
| B．impressed by the high standards at the riding centre |
| C．anxious to make sure that the horses would like her |
| D．nervous about being seen with the horses |
| A．made her stop in surprise | B．made her a bit frightened |
| C．made her feel sorry | D．made her change her mind |
| A．She is looking forward to taking up an exciting hobby. |
| B．She is concerned about making new friends. |
| C．She is beginning to feel more positive about the school. |
| D．She is disappointed about having so little time with the horses. |
【推荐3】The United Nations predicts worldwide temperatures over the next five years may at times rise to more than 1.5 degrees Centigrade above pre-industrial levels. The U.N.’s World Meteorological(气象的) Organization, WMO, said the prediction suggests continued warming could present a challenge to climate change goals set in the 2015 Paris Agreement,which seeks to limit world temperature rises through major cuts in human-caused greenhouse gases.
The WMO said there was a 20 percent chance that the yearly average temperature will rise above 1.5 Celsius higher than the pre-industrial average levels in at least one year.The report identifies 1850-1900 as the pre-industrial period.That does not mean that the average would be crossing the long-term target of 1.S Celsius that scientists have set as the limit for avoiding catastrophic(灾难性的) climate change.
Temperatures over the last five years have been the warmest on record, the WMO reported. Temperatures over the next five years are very likely to be within the range of 0.91 to 1.59Celsius above pre-industrial levels, it predicted. Southern Africa and Australia, where fires last year destroyed millions of hectares(公顷)，will probably be drier than usual through 2024, the report said. Africa’s Sahel region is likely be wetter, while Europe should see more storms.
Maxx Dilley, the WMO’s director of climate services, told the Associated Press the predictions are worrisome. “It shows how close we’re getting to what the Paris Agreement is trying to prevent,” he said.Still,Dilley added that it would not be impossible for countries to reach the target set in Paris,of keeping global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius,by the end of the century. Petteri Taalas, the WMO Secretary-General, added, “While COVID-19 has caused a severe international health and economic crisis, failure to cope with climate change may threaten human well-being, ecosystems and economies for centuries.”
1. According to WMO,the continued warming is| A．in an alarming trend. | B．Out of control. |
| C．Naturally developing. | D．Far from worry. |
| A．Temperatures will have a sudden rise. |
| B．People in Africa should get more help. |
| C．Fires in Australia will last over 5 years. |
| D．Our living environment is getting worse. |
| A．Carefree. | B．Objective. | C．Indifferent. | D．Scared. |
| A．Global impact of Climate change. |
| B．The most serious challenge we face. |
| C．UN predicts more rising temperatures. |
| D．How do we cope with continued warming. |
