1 . Finding your next awesome read
When you read as much as we do, it can be hard to find a good new book. There are so many read out there that it’s easy to be overwhelmed by all of the possibilities, often leading to a disappointing choice or wasted money and time. We’re here to make the process just a little bit easier. Here are five tips to find your next awesome read:
World’s famous works
If you’re looking for a popular current read, then bestseller lists are a great place to start. Usually there’s a reason that a book ends up on one of these lists, guaranteeing a high quality read. There are always the classic lists to consult, like the New York Times or USA Today, which are both reliable and constant.
Book clubs
Maybe you’re already part of a local book club, so you know how great they can be in terms of introducing you to new books you might not discover on your own. But there are also tons of online book clubs you can join, giving you an even wider access to some awesome reads. Some of these clubs are celebrity-run, like Oprah’s Book Club 2.0 or Emma Watson’s feminist book club: Our Shared Shelf.
To 100 Lists
Another way of finding a good book is to consult a top 100 lists. There are tons of them out there, from the traditional to the unusual. If you’re looking for a lot of solid classics, then try Time’s All-Time 100 Novels, which included books like On the Road and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. If you want something a little more global, then head over to thegreathooks.org for their Top 100 works in World Literature.
Goodreads
Considering the fact that part of Goodreads’ mission is to “help people find and share the books they love,” then there’s no surprise that it’s an awesome way to discover new reads. Fans, readers and authors all connect on the site, sharing review s and shelving books they’re interested in.
1. What can we infer from the first paragraph?A.Reading wastes a lot of time. | B.There are various wonderful books out there. |
C.Electric books are more popular now. | D.Readers prefer to buy books online. |
A.A local book club. | B.Book club 2.0. |
C.Feminist book club. | D.A celebrity club. |
A.An online column. | B.A travel journal. |
C.A text book. | D.A newspaper. |
2 . My father, Paul Andrew Figura, was a die-hard fisherman. In my
Whenever we
The greatest life lesson that Dad taught me involved dealing with those times when the fish weren’t
I learned early the importance of
A.dream | B.career | C.childhood | D.adulthood |
A.got up | B.reached out | C.stepped back | D.set off |
A.camps | B.lines | C.tracks | D.cottages |
A.forgot | B.rejected | C.recalled | D.meant |
A.make | B.pack | C.heat | D.freeze |
A.cultural | B.random | C.major | D.external |
A.cast | B.step | C.strike | D.risk |
A.swimming | B.dancing | C.gathering | D.biting |
A.wander | B.play | C.quit | D.sleep |
A.response | B.intention | C.evaluation | D.situation |
A.abandon | B.monitor | C.fetch | D.wet |
A.kindness | B.insistence | C.confidence | D.business |
A.cooperate | B.progress | C.resist | D.integrate |
A.In surprise | B.As a result | C.Ahead of time | D.In particular |
A.intentionally | B.casually | C.hesitantly | D.temporarily |
3 . Evolution (进化) can perform extraordinary makeovers; today’s airborne songbirds evolved from the wingless, earthbound dinosaurs that wandered millions of years ago. But some organisms seem to be unchanged — in other words, escape natural selection. The coelacanth, a modern-day fish, is nearly identical to its410-million-year-old fossils.
Scientists have long wondered how these species do so. It has been assumed that natural selection keeps some species unchanged by selecting for moderate or average qualities (stabilizing selection) rather than selecting for more extreme qualities that would cause a species to change (directional selection).
But a study published in the National Academy of Sciences USA contradicts this idea, showing that evolution constantly favors different qualities in seemingly unchanging animals to improve short-term survival. In the long term, though, “all that evolution cancels out and leads to no change,” says the study’s lead author, James Stroud.
Stroud and his colleagues studied for lizard (蜥蜴) specios; all relatively unchanged for 20 million years. The researchers caught members of these populations every six months for three years. They measured each lizard’s head size, leg length, mass and height, as well as the size of its sticky toes (脚趾头), noting which individuals survived. Stroud expected to observe stabılızıng selection at work preserving moderate qualities. Instead he saw clearer evidence of directional selection: some lizards with unique characteristics, such as stickier toes, survived better.
“The study offers a good explanation for why we see what we think is stabiliring selection,” says Tadashi Fukami, an ecologist studying evolution at Stanford University. Many new qualities are evolving in the short term, but they don’t provide a crucial advantage over the long term. In other words, species staying unchanged may simply have found the best possible combination of qualities for lasting success in their environment. So what happens when the lizards’ environment changes more dramatically? To help answer this bigger question, Stroud is still making trips to visit the lizards.
1. Why does the author mention the “coelacanth fish” in paragraph 1?A.To demonstrate the power of evolution. | B.To add evidence to natural selection |
C.To give an example of unchanged species. | D.To prove species' extraordinary makeovers. |
A.Unsolved mysteries. | B.A common belief. |
C.A sharp contrast. | D.Unique Characteristics. |
A.By analyzing lizard fossils. | B.By tracking research objects. |
C.By illustrating stabilizing selection. | D.By categorizing qualities of lizards. |
A.Make trips to visit lizard experts. | B.Summarize average features of lizards. |
C.Reveal the best combinations of qualities. | D.Examine lizards under extreme conditions. |
4 . On January 7, David Bennett went into the operating room at the University of Maryland Medical Center for a surgical procedure never performed before on a human. The 57-year-old Maryland resident had been hospitalized for months due to a life threatening disease. His heart was failing him and he needed a new one.
Bennett’s condition left him unresponsive to treatment and ineligible (不合格) for the transplant (移植) list or an artificial heart pump. The physician-scientists at the center, however, had another-also risky- option: transplant a heart from a genetically-modified pig.
“It was either die or do this transplant,” Bennett had told surgeons a day before the operation. “I want to live. I know it’s a shot in the dark, but it’s also my last choice.”
It took the medical team eight hours to finish the operation, and their efforts have not been in vain. “It’s working and it looks normal. We are thrilled, but we don’t know what tomorrow will bring us. This has never been done before,” Barkley Griffith, who led the transplant team, told the New York Times.
While it’s only been five days since the operation, the surgeons say that Bennett’s new pig heart was, so far,functioning as expected and his body wasn’t rejecting (排斥) the organ. They are still monitoring his condition closely.
“I think it’s extremely exciting,” says Robert Montgomery. The result of the procedure was also personally meaningful for Montgomery, who received a heart transplant in 2018 due to a genetic disease that may also affect members of his family in the future. “It’s still in the early days, but still the heart seems to be functioning. And that in and of itself is an extraordinary thing. Up to now most experimental heart transplant procedures have been done between pigs and other animals. This is the first time that surgeons have taken it into a living human.”
1. What do the words “a shot in the dark” underlined in Paragraph 3 mean?A.Something that costs a fortune. |
B.Something impossible to succeed. |
C.Something drawing public attention. |
D.Something with an uncertain outcome. |
A.Bennett can’t afford an artificial heart pump. |
B.At first, Bennett would rather die than do this transplant. |
C.Bennett was the first human to successfully receive a pig’s heart. |
D.Montgomery was the first person who received a heart transplant in the world. |
A.The heated debate over the pig heart transplant. |
B.David Bennett’s contribution to medical research. |
C.The first experimental pig heart transplant in the world. |
D.The first successful pig heart transplant into a living human. |
A.illegal | B.unclear. | C.optimistic. | D.pessimistic |
5 . Bryan was driving home one evening. It was starting to get dark and cold. Ever since the factory closed, he’d been unemployed. Suddenly, he saw an old lady
All she had was a
A few miles down the road, the lady saw a small cafe and went in. She
That night when she got home from work, she was thinking about the lady. With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard. She knew how
A.confusedly | B.anxiously | C.frightenedly | D.crazily |
A.pulled up | B.broke down | C.dressed up | D.calmed down |
A.crowded | B.spacious | C.warm | D.cold |
A.flat | B.spare | C.new | D.swollen |
A.charged | B.admired | C.appreciated | D.owed |
A.price | B.money | C.cost | D.salary |
A.assistance | B.guidance | C.opportunity | D.reward |
A.discovered | B.recalled | C.hoped | D.noticed |
A.menu | B.lunch | C.change | D.tip |
A.Unwillingly | B.Unexpectedly | C.Unfortunately | D.Unlikely |
A.sorrows | B.joys | C.regrets | D.tears |
A.wrote | B.said | C.printed | D.showed |
A.continue | B.begin | C.end | D.develop |
A.terrified | B.relieved | C.excited | D.worried |
A.whispered | B.screamed | C.laughed | D.shouted |
6 . The story goes that some time ago, a man punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was
The man was
The father was
In a very real sense, each one of us, as humans beings, has been given a gold container fled with
A.cheap | B.loose | C.tight | D.expensive |
A.eager | B.anxious | C.puzzled | D.angry |
A.Otherwise | B.Therefore | C.However | D.Besides |
A.excited | B.embarrassed | C.inspired | D.awkward |
A.empty | B.sweet | C.beautiful | D.different |
A.repeated | B.yelled | C.performed | D.chatted |
A.looked up | B.looked down | C.looked over | D.looked into |
A.warmth | B.pride | C.tears | D.relaxation |
A.dream | B.kisses | C.hope | D.love |
A.proud | B.happy | C.shocked | D.interested |
A.forgiveness | B.praise | C.attention | D.comfort |
A.went away | B.rode away | C.moved away | D.carried away |
A.false | B.true | C.recovery | D.imaginary |
A.helpful | B.unconditional | C.accessible | D.expected |
A.precious | B.romantic | C.tough | D.evident |
7 . I remember that it was a fall morning when the orchestra (管弦乐队) teachers came into Miss Newell’s third-grade classroom. “You have hands for the viola (中提琴),” Miss Ciano told me. I was excited because my hands were finally good for something. I told my parents I wanted to play, and naturally, they agreed.
Since I first touched the viola, I haven’t been able to put it down. Ignoring the difficulty, I am pulled closer to it each day.
Classical music is truly my best friend. It is the trusted friend of every man, woman and child. Various feelings are expressed in classical music. I discovered that when I was eleven and played a cello concerto (大提琴协奏曲) of Bach in a competition, the first movement was joyful, but the second movement was mysterious and full of pain. From the piece, I learned that music expresses not only feelings, but also sudden mood changes. By listening to classical music, I know that someone else shares these feelings. Since I am lucky enough to be able to play classical music, I am comforted by it when I am upset. It gives me a way to escape from my problems for a short period. Classical music can express my joy, sadness and anger.
Now look back at that fall day in the third grade and think how gullible I was for believing that anyone, even music teachers, could tell whether hands were perfect for a certain instrument. I’m certain they told me I had “viola hands” not because they were fortune-tellers, but because there was a lack of violists in our district. Classical music is one of the best things that ever happened to mankind. If you get introduced to it in the right way, it will become your friend for life.
1. What’s the main cause of the author’s interest in playing the viola?A.Interesting musical classes. | B.Beautiful viola sound. |
C.Teachers’ proper guidance. | D.Parents’ strong support. |
A.By developing social skills. | B.By giving emotional comfort. |
C.By broadening life experience. | D.By building close relationship. |
A.Easily tricked. | B.Firmly loved. | C.Greatly challenged. | D.Secretly hidden. |
A.Special Event, Sweet Memory. | B.Classical Music, Endless Friendship. |
C.Lifetime Dream, Great effort. | D.Happy Childhood, Unforgotten Experience. |
8 . Since the age of three, Chelsie Hill had dreamed of becoming a dancer. That ambition
After graduation, Hill wanted to expand her dance network to
Hill is a real
A.finally | B.nearly | C.gradually | D.merely |
A.church | B.theatre | C.school | D.hospital |
A.beginning | B.peak | C.warning | D.lesson |
A.strong | B.healthy | C.normal | D.talented |
A.mind | B.wheelchair | C.bed | D.studio |
A.grace | B.luck | C.patience | D.passion |
A.include | B.save | C.honor | D.protect |
A.lost | B.shared | C.needed | D.hid |
A.get through | B.pass on | C.break down | D.stick to |
A.crawling | B.running | C.dancing | D.rolling |
A.having fun | B.seeking help | C.making an effort | D.taking a risk |
A.chief | B.coach | C.dancer | D.director |
A.record | B.standard | C.victory | D.dream |
A.understood | B.belonged | C.succeeded | D.grew |
A.empowering | B.interesting | C.disappointing | D.embarrassing |
9 . Whether you are looking for an exciting way to spend weekend nights or a new hobby that would help your teen live healthily, LKA Teen Nights are a perfect solution.
Our Montessori-inspired environment empowers students to focus on what interests them most be it exploring cooking art, learning new skills, or making meaningful connections. In Teen Nights, students are motivated to promote their knowledge about nutrition, eating locally and organically, and the impact of their food choices on their minds, bodies, and the environment.
Curriculum(课程)During the sessions, our professional instructors cover diverse topics about food and nutrition that are essential for teenagers to sustain a healthy lifestyle. The curriculum mainly includes developing a moderate portion and preparing meals for various categories such as athletes, picky eaters, and people with eating disorder.
·We challenge our teens by making creative recipes with limited tools, or missing ingredients.
·Our recipes will involve trying a popular dish from a local restaurant and improving it.
·We will ask our teens to look up the price for the ingredients we are using to calculate the cost of our meals.
At the end of every session, we gather around the community table made from recycled chopsticks, where we enjoy the delicious meal teens worked so hard to create.
Targeted GroupsTeen Nights are suitable for all learning styles from traditional schooling to alternative education for exceptional learners.
Opening TimeOur LKA Teen Nights run every Friday & Saturday night from 7:30 pm to 10 pm.
View information on the location-specific page for details on the enrollment.
1. Who is the text intended for?A.Teenagers. | B.Parents. | C.Chefs. | D.Instructors. |
A.Improving athletic skills. | B.Raising healthy eating awareness. |
C.Solving environmental problems. | D.Strengthening family connections. |
A.It encourages creative cooking. | B.It promotes community service. |
C.It focuses on home-made dishes. | D.It recommends recycled materials. |
10 . An increase in a country’s working-age population is a blessing. Lots of workers support relatively few children and retired people. So long as the labor market can absorb an increasing number of job-seekers, output per head will rise. That can boost savings and investment, leading to higher economic growth, more productivity gains and developmental speed-up. Yet for countries that fail to seize this opportunity, the results can be tough.
Consider Thailand. It is rapidly aging. In 2021, the share of Thais aged 65 or over hit 14%, a figure that is often used to define an aged society Soon Thailand will, like Japan, South Korea and most Western countries, see a decreasing supply of workers and flagging productivity and growth without extraordinary measures. Yet unlike Japan and the rest. Thailand is not a developed country. It has got old before it has got rich.
This is a big barrier to Thailand’s future development. To protect its aging citizens, many of whom are poor, Thailand’s government will have to spend more on health care and pensions (养老金). This will make it harder to invest in productivity-boosting skills and infrastructure (基础设施). And where Thailand goes, many developing countries will follow.
One conclusion is that countries with a working-age burst need seeking more economic growth out of it. India may never have a better chance than the present. It is widely accepted that privatization and looser foreign-investment rules could raise its growth rate.
Another conclusion is that developing countries need to start planning for old age earlier. They should reform their pension systems, including by raising retirement ages. They should encourage financial markets, providing options for long-term saving and health insurance. And they should try harder to increase female participation in the labor force. Getting more women into jobs would help deal with the fact that women live longer than men, but tend to have less savings and pensions, leaving them in difficult situations in old age.
1. What does “opportunity” in the first paragraph refer to?A.Providing more jobs for working-age laborers. |
B.Reducing support for children and the elderly. |
C.Encouraging investment for economic growth. |
D.Increasing economic output and labor productivity. |
A.It causes a shortage of young workers. |
B.It forces the country to invest in infrastructure. |
C.It leads to less investment in economic development. |
D.It increases the burden on the working-age population. |
A.To extend women’s retirement ages. |
B.To encourage women to be included in health insurance. |
C.To equalize the number of men and women in the workplace. |
D.To settle the conflict between women’s long lifespan and small pension. |
A.Aging Problems in Developing Countries. |
B.Planning Ahead for Aging Societies. |
C.Challenges and Opportunities of Aging Societies. |
D.The Role of Female Labors in Addressing the Aging Issue. |