1 . Rocky was a 65-pound dog. Rita was his eleven-year old owner. When Rocky was given to her, Rita immediately liked him. Whenever she was not in school,the two were always together and within touching distance. The family would lovingly call the pair “R and R”.
But Rocky had one shortcoming. He feared water very much because of a terrible experience. When he was at the age of seven weeks long before he met Rita,he was nearly drowned by a naughty boy who had been blamed by his father.
One late afternoon, Rita's mother took R and R to a shopping area near a lake. Rita was running along the wooden bridge over the water,enjoying the beautiful scenery around. Suddenly a boy on a bicycle hit Rita. She let out a cry of pain and fell into the lake.
Rita's mother was at the entrance of a store not far away. She rushed to the lake shouting for help. Rocky seemed to forget his fear and jumped into the water to save his owner. Rocky immediately swam to Rita and held her by the shoulder's clothes with his mouth. Rita's face was quickly out of the water and she could cough.Luckily,the water was calm,they were not far from the bank,and Rocky finally reached a depth where his feet were on solid ground. He pulled Rita hard until her head was completely out of the water, and then he stood beside her, licking (舔) her face.
Rita and her family firmly believed that it was only the big dog's love for the little girl that caused him to take action that might be life-dangerous.
1. From the text, we know __________.| A．Rita was once blamed |
| B．Rocky was eleven years old |
| C．Rita spent her spare time with Rocky |
| D．Rocky lived in Rita's home since his birth |
| A．Brave. | B．Honest. | C．Unkind. | D．Dangerous. |
| A．At noon. | B．At night. | C．In the morning. | D．In the afternoon. |
① Rocky came into Rita's life.② Rocky was nearly drowned.
③They were playing near the lake. ④ Rocky saved Rita from the water.
| A．①②④③ | B．②①③④ | C．③①②④ | D．④③②① |
2 . Despite the lack of new releases due to the outbreak of COVID-19, there was no shortage of good films in 2020. We've rounded out the top 4 films. Check them out!
Soul
In the first Pixar cartoon to have an African-American lead character. Jamie Foxx provides the voice of a music teacher who dreams of making it as a jazz pianist. But just after a successful interview, he falls down a manhole and finds himself in a soul world where human spirits are assigned their personalities. And things get even stranger from there.
Nomadland
When Fern loses her husband and can't afford to live in a house, she packs her few belongings into a camper and drives off into the Nevada desert. She encounters a large community of senior citizens who have also been forced to live on the road, supporting themselves with short-term- jobs along the way. What makes Nomadland unique is that while Fern is played by an Oscar-winning actress, nearly all she meets are real people who relate their own experiences. Written and directed by Chloe Zhao, the film is a combination of documentary and fiction.
The Croods: A New Age
The prehistoric family from 2013's hugely enjoyable cartoon, The Croods, directed by Joel Crawford, makes a welcome return, so we can expect more crazy adventures and unusual animals. In the much-delayed- sequel, they meet another family, the Bettermans, whose advanced lifestyle and technology make the Croods look even more primitive than they did already. There's conflict but they learn to appreciate each other's differences.
Wolfwalkers
The year's finest cartoon film comes from Cartoon Saloon, an Irish studio specialising in stylised hand-drawn 2D art. Its latest production is set in the mid-17th Century, when English soldiers are trying to occupy the wild woods. One hunter's daughter meets with a girl wolfwalker and they make joint efforts to rescue the forest. It's a heartwarming story of friendship and an inspiring adventure about two girls finding themselves Wolfwalkers stands proud as new classic.
1. What is the film Soul about?| A．pianist's dream coming true. | B．A musician's romantic journeys. |
| C．A music teacher's unusual experiences. | D．An African-American actor's success story. |
| A．Soul. | B．Nomnadland. | C．The Croods: A New Age. | D．Wolfwalkers. |
| A．Science. | B．History. | C．Entertainment. | D．Medicine. |
3 . According to a survey, the waste of food on the dining table occupies 10% of the total grain output. Last week Meituan co-published a proposal with a number of business organizations, calling on restaurants to stop food waste and help develop new eating habits for customers. “Restaurants should use official accounts on social media and live-streaming to promote and advocate food-saving actions,” the proposal said.
Meituan and the organizations are advocating that merchants offer guidance for consumers, including reminding them during the ordering process about the taste of the ingredients, portion sizes and other information about the dishes, to help them avoid food waste due to misleading information.
Catering associations in more than 18 provinces have also joined the campaign to remove food waste. The Wuhan Catering Association proposed an “N-1” ordering code for restaurants in which a group of 10 diners would only order enough for nine people. More food is only brought to the table if required. It has inspired people to rethink their relationship with food and waste.
On Friday, the China Cuisine Association announced that it had teamed up with Ele. me, a food delivery platform, to launch a “ half-dish plan", encouraging restaurants to provide customers with the option to order smaller portions. Besides, customers are encouraged to take their leftovers home.
To reduce food waste on social media platforms, some popular video platforms have stepped up content reviews of food-related live streams and implemented regulation of online eating shows. Now, if users search certain keywords, such as “eating show" or “competitive eaters", a cautionary message pops up to remind them to cherish food and keep a reasonable diet.
1. What is the purpose of the proposal mentioned in the passage?| A．To monitor food sales on social media and live-streaming. |
| B．To expand the business and competitive ability of Meituan. |
| C．To encourage restaurants to take measures to reduce food waste. |
| D．To promote cooperation between Meituan and other organizations. |
| A．By doing a survey. | B．By offering analysis. |
| C．By making comparisons. | D．By giving an example. |
| A．Purchasing their favorite food. | B．Buying proper amounts of food. |
| C．Following some competitive eaters. | D．Leaving their leftovers in the restaurant. |
| A．Appears unexpectedly. | B．Spreads widely. |
| C．Moves quickly. | D．Fades slowly. |
4 . Like fine food, good writing is something we approach with pleasure and enjoy from the first taste to the last. And good writers, like good cooks, do not suddenly appear full-blown. Quite the opposite, just as the cook has to undergo a particular training, mastering the skills of his trade, the writer must sit at his desk and devote long hours to achieving a style in his writing, whatever its purpose is — schoolwork, matters of business, or purely social communication.
You may be sure that the more painstaking the effort, the more effective the writing, and the more rewarding.
There are still some faraway places in the world where you might find a public scribe to do your business or social writing for you, for money. There are a few managers who are lucky enough to have the service of that rare kind of secretary who can take care of all sorts of letter writing with no more than a quick note to work from. But for most of us, if there is any writing to be done, we have to do it ourselves.
We have to write school papers, business papers or home papers. We are constantly called on to put words to papers. It would be difficult to count the number of such words, messages, letters, and reports put into mails or delivered by hand, but the daily figures must be extremely large. What is more, everyone who writes expects, or at least hopes whatever he writes will be read, from first word to last, not just thrown into some “letters-to-be-read” files or into a wastepaper basket. This is the reason we bend our efforts toward learning and practicing the skills of interesting, effective writing.
1. In this passage, good writing is compared to fine food because ______.| A．both are enjoyable |
| B．both are hard to learn |
| C．both are necessary to life |
| D．both take a long time to prepare |
| A．they rely on quick notes | B．they have excellent secretaries |
| C．they have a computer to do it | D．they prefer making phone calls |
| A．it will receive immediate attention | B．it will be dealt with by the secretary |
| C．it is likely to be neglected | D．it is meant to be delivered soon |
| A．to explain and persuade | B．to comment and criticize |
| C．to interest and entertain | D．to argue and demonstrate |
5 . The signs appeared practically overnight. They’d been planted everywhere—in front of homes, along sidewalks, around the local high school. Each featured just a few uplifting words in simple black type: “Don’t Give Up,” “You Are Worthy of Love,” “Your Mistakes Do Not Define You.” The high school in Newberg, Oregon, had lost four students and three former graduates to kill themselves that year, so the town of 25, 000 instantly understood the messages.
Amy Wolff had done so, in part, because she’d lost her own teenage brother in an accident about 20 years earlier. It was compassion (同情) for compassion’s sake.
Yet as Wolff saw the deep emotion her sign inspired in her neighbors, she decided to step forward to share her message publicly. Instantly, her inbox was flooded with requests for more signs. Since then, the Don’t Give Up Movement has spread from Newberg to the hearts and yards of people in every state. Wolff charges only the cost of materials and shipping. “It’s a terrible business decision if we wanted to function like a business,” she says.
Chrisanne Moger commented on one of the movement’s posts about the need for one particular sign, “We’re All in This Together.” She thought it would really speak to a world huddling together under the cloud of COVID-19. Wolff agreed, and she received 750 orders within a week of its creation. A mother in Colorado, unable to travel during the quarantine (隔离), contacted the organization after her stepson’s sudden death. “I saw one of your signs recently and it was a touching message from above to hang on.” she wrote.
Aware of the added emotional challenges isolation brings, the Don’t Give Up Movement has since offered to send handwritten letters of support to anyone in quarantine who needs it.
1. Why did the signs suddenly appear everywhere in Newberg?| A．They featured some inspiring words. |
| B．The high school had lost several students. |
| C．They conveyed simple messages. |
| D．The outbreak of COVID-19 scared people. |
| A．It is a non-profit organization. |
| B．It met all requests of neighbors. |
| C．It gradually won the hearts of people. |
| D．It was started in honor of Amy’s brother. |
| A．They bring emotional challenges. |
| B．They offer great encouragement. |
| C．They provide information for COVID-19. |
| D．They improve interpersonal relationships. |
| A．She’s active and open-minded. | B．She’s talkative and sociable. |
| C．She’s decisive and ambitious. | D．She’s selfless and devoted. |
6 . Think about what you did this morning. You get out of bed and get yourself ready for the day.Many people take for granted the fact that they are able to do this independently. Imagine for a moment that you couldn't dress yourself or make your own breakfast. Now imagine if this is how you will wake up for the rest of your life. For Ivy Krause, this is her reality.
Ivy has a medical condition known as Epidermolysis Bullosa (表皮溶解水泡症)，or EB, where the slightest touch can blister and even remove her skin. Ivy has the most severe form of EB where her skin is affected both externally and internally. Simple tasks like going to the toilet and getting dressed are made very difficult. Mobility is limited as Ivy's skin has become tight, and her fingers have fused together, with the only way to reverse this being surgery. EB is a very painful condition, and what is most heartbreaking is knowing that this beautiful, smiling, little girl is living in constant extreme pain.
This is where carers and trained babysitters come in. Yvonne McMullan has been caring for Ivy for the past 3 years, and said it has been both the worst and best experience. "It's hard. For her, especially at this age, she needs continuity of care. By having the same nurses treating her, Ivy knows that we love and care about her as much as she loves us. But without being there, you don't know just how sorrowful it is to see her in pain. It's heartbreaking."
Ivy is a fighter in almost every sense of the word. She has encouraged so many people to give back to the community and donate to charities who support the families of young children living with disabilities, even just to show appreciation to the gift of life and opportunity. Even though she is covered with bandages, her strong will for life is moving and inspiring, just like a butterfly, facing so many barriers which still does its best to come out of the chrysalis (蝶蛹).
1. What is wrong with Ivy Krause?| A．She doesn't know how to cook. | B．She can't live on her own. |
| C．She is particular for food. | D．She is too lazy. |
| A．The reason for Ivy's illness. | B．The symptom of Ivy's EB. |
| C．The cures of treating EB. | D．The research on skin. |
| A．Generous and encouraging. | B．Optimistic and grateful. |
| C．Ambitious and caring. | D．Independent and unselfish. |
| A．A heartbroken babysitter | B．A strange case ever found |
| C．A butterfly beneath the bandages | D．The appreciation to the gift of life |
7 . You’re enjoying a quiet evening at home when suddenly your neighbor’s dog starts barking(吠叫)and doesn’t stop. Sure, dogs need to bark every now and then, but if the barking is getting in the way of your daily life, you need to do something.
“Before you take action, make records of when the dog is disturbing,” says expert Sharon Schweitzer. “Record the dates and time when the barking appears to find out the features of the barking. Check them carefully and get your facts straight. You might notice the barking only happens when the owners are at work, or during thunderstorms.”
After two to three weeks, visit your neighbors with the facts. “Since you’re trying to keep a good relationship, you can’t go when you’re angry and frustrated,” says Schweitzer. Plus, your neighbors might not even realize the barking is a problem, for the worst noise may happen when they’re gone.
Explain the time when the barking gets bad, then suggest a way to solve the problem. “You can sit and complain all day, but that will go nowhere,” says Schweitzer. Ask if the dog can stay inside during the storm, or suggest a dog training class. Be open to compromise(妥协)because the owners might have other ideas about how to deal with the noise.
Befriending the dog could help. Have your neighbors introduce you to their dogs. “If they become more comfortable in your presence, they’re less likely to bark when they see you or when they’re in the backyard,”says Schweitzer. You might even be able to use commands such as “quiet” once the dog trusts you.
Avoid gossiping(说长道短)with other neighbors about the dog.“That’s when things escalate.” After all, most people will want to solve the problem.
1. What can you do first when the barking of your neighbor’s dog influences your life?| A．Bring the dog to a training class. |
| B．Show it to your neighborhoods. |
| C．Drive it out of your neighborhood. |
| D．Record the dates and time of the barking. |
| A．They may like the barking. |
| B．They all think their dogs are friendly. |
| C．They have been used to the barking of the dogs. |
| D．They may be out when the worst barking happens. |
| A．Become better. |
| B．Become worse. |
| C．Remain unchanged. |
| D．Become more personal. |
| A．Love me, love my dog. |
| B．Barking dogs seldom bite. |
| C．Good communication is a must. |
| D．Treat violence with violence(暴力). |
8 . If you are aiming to master anything quickly, you can learn from Albert Einstein and Richard Feynman. They offer practical advice you can use to improve your learning.
According to Einstein, improving your intellectual capacity should be fun and enjoyable —— happy learners are quick learners. In 1915, he wrote a letter to his 11-year-old son (Hans Albert) who was learning the piano and said:
“I am very pleased that you find joy with the piano. This and carpentry are in my opinion for your age the best pursuits, better even than school, because those are things which fit a young person such as you very well. Mainly play the things on the piano which please you, even if the teacher does not assign those. That is the way to learn the most when you are doing something with such enjoyment that you don’t notice that the time passes.”
To learn anything faster or better, choose topics you will enjoy — if you have control over what you are learning. Make the learning relevant. You should be able to answer the question “Why am I learning this?” at any point.
Richard Feynman won a Nobel Prize and always wanted to know more and to learn more. Known as the “Great Explainer”，he was famous for his ability to explain complex topics in simple ways.
The Feynman Technique, his approach to improving learning, features explaining or teaching what you learn to others. It can help you learn better and keep more of what you learn. According to Feynman, it is significant to have the ability to explain things simply — so simple, in fact, that you could explain it to an eight-year-old. Einstein agrees. He once said, “If you can't explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”
For thousands of years, people have known that the best way to understand a concept is to explain it to someone else. “While we teach, we learn,” said the Roman philosopher Seneca. Learners keep a greater percentage of what they learn when they explain or teach the concept to someone else, or use it immediately. Your ideas will never be more effective than your ability to make others grasp them. When you share, you remember better.
1. Einstein wrote the letter to his son in order to _.| A．encourage Hans to play the piano well |
| B．share some useful advice on how to play the piano |
| C．support Hans' learning the piano with enjoyment |
| D．suggest Hans taking teachers* assignment seriously |
| A．Teaching what you learn to others. | B．Explaining your things thoroughly. |
| C．Choosing enjoyable topics. | D．Understanding things well enough. |
| A．To provide advice on how to teach concepts. |
| B．To illustrate the significance of teaching others. |
| C．To impress the readers with his meaningful quotes. |
| D．To show people’s exploration of concepts in history. |
| A．Secrets of Learning Faster. |
| B．Benefits of Teaching Others. |
| C．Contribution of Great Explainers. |
| D．Importance of Learning with Enjoyment. |
9 . Become a Volunteer and Make a Difference
The First Tee, as an outstanding youth development organization, is always searching for good people that want to volunteer at one of our many Pittsburgh area locations.
We’re Looking for You!
Developed with input from leading experts in the field of positive youth development, our program focuses on making participants stronger and more confident through decision-making and exploring options, inspiring the golfers of tomorrow to look to the future, set goals, and unlock their potential. Opportunities include:
Assistant Coach: assist in our weekly golf clinics. All that we request is that you make a 7-week commitment (one day per week), for 2 hours each week. Each clinic is led by one of our trained staff members who creates a written lesson plan for our volunteers to follow.
Database Manager: input data entry of participants, volunteers, and community relation records and update chapter information for Home Office and community relations.
Equipment Manager: organize and sort donated equipment, get rid of unfit equipment, and arrange equipment for distribution to participants at least every other week.
Greeter: register participants, hand information to parents, greet visitors, answer phone and provide general program information.
Process of Becoming a Volunteer
Begin by filling out the application below. Once Alison Boyle, our Director, receives your completed application, she will contact you for an in-person interview.
CLICK HERE to fill out a Volunteer Application via Google Forms
For more information, please contact Alison Boyle, at aboyle@thefirstteepittsburgh.org.
1. What does The First Tee Coach Program center on?| A．Helping participants get stronger and more confident | B．Training professional coaches. |
| C．Attracting more visitors. | D．Looking for golf stars. |
| A．Greeter. | B．Database manager |
| C．Assistant coach. | D．Equipment manager. |
| A．Be a good golfer. | B．Consult Alison Boyle |
| C．Have an interview. | D．Promise to work 7 weeks. |
Whatsonstage.com is the UK’s biggest and best online guide to the performing arts including theatre, opera, classical music, dance and so on.
◆ The Lion King
Musical: The stage adaptation of the Disney film taken from an original African story. A young lion grows up and learns that taking over the pride requires wisdom and maturity(成熟).
Place: Lyceum Theatre, Wellington Street, London
Telephone: 0870 243 9000
Date: Friday, 18 Nov. 2015
Ticket price: ￡37.5
◆ Oliver
Musical: Dickens’ story of a boy in a London workhouse and his adventures on the way to his family. The songs include “Food glorious food”, “You’ve got to pick a pocket or two”, “Who will buy this wonderful morning”, “I am reviewing the situation” and “Consider yourself at home.”
Place: Theatre Royal, Catherine Street, London
Telephone: 020 7494 5061
Date: Thursday, 17 Nov. 2015
Ticket price: ￡25, but now save 20%
◆ Jersey Boys
Musical: It tells the story of Frankie Valli and the Four seasons: the blue-collar kids from New Jersey formed a singing group and became famous. The musical features many of the group’s popular songs such as “Big girls don’t cry”, “Oh, what a night” and “Can’t take my eyes off you”.
Place: Prince Edward Theatre, Old Compton Street, London
Telephone: 0870 850 9191
Date: Saturday, 19 Nov. 2015
Ticket price: ￡22.5
◆ Alls Well That Ends Well
Play: A romantic story. Helena, daughter of a poor physician, loves Bertram, son of a Countess(女伯爵).
Place: Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, Park Street, London
Telephone: 020 7401 9919
Date: Sunday, 20 Nov, 2015
Ticket price: ￡40.5
1. If Mary is available on Friday, which of the following should she call to buy a ticket?
| A．0870 850 9191 | B．020 7494 5061 |
| C．0870 243 9000 | D．020 7401 9919 |
| A．Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre |
| B．Lyceum Theatre |
| C．Prince Edward Theatre |
| D．Theatre Royal |
| A．To show the importance of Whatsonstage.com |
| B．To give some information about the performing arts. |
| C．To introduce some famous English theatres. |
| D．To teach readers how to use the online guide. |
