1 . On March 14, 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic (新冠疫情) forced 57th Street Books, in Chicago, to close its doors. The store wouldn’t reopen for nearly a year and a half. During that time, director Jeff Deutsch was worried. Customers couldn’t come to the shop. His main advantage over online business had gone overnight.
Deutsch said he and his team were lucky. Customers stepped up. They offered gifts and support. “There was something very beautiful in the way our community came together,” he said. “We really supported one another’s businesses,”
Similar stories played out over the past two years in cities and towns around the country. Though independent bookstores were forced to close during the pandemic, many found ways to connect with and help their community.
Anne Holman is co-owner of the King’s English Bookshop. It’s in Salt Lake City, Utah. She said the store put books outside for reading and started doing a lot of events online. Other stores set up bookselling hotlines, and improved their tools for e-business.
Some bookstores did events that went more than bookselling. They offered COVID testing. They collected food for people in need. “Having an independent bookstore in your community is almost like a town square,” said Samira Ahmed, an author of books for young adults. “It’s an important place to build community.”
11-year-old Adele Sorkin, a fan of 57th Street Books, is on its Young Readers Advisory Board. Members receive early copies of books in exchange for writing reviews. “I think of the bookstore as a cookie jar (罐子),” Adele says. “It’s something special and fun that is always there for you.” Jeff Deutsch sees a bright future. “If we reimagine bookstores and do our best to support them,” he says, “then bookstores can thrive (兴盛).”
1. Why did Jeff Deutsch feel lucky?A.A smart team had been built. | B.He could shop on the Internet. |
C.Customers gave him a hand. | D.Online business grew overnight. |
A.How they sold books to the young. | B.When they built a town square. |
C.Why they helped people in need. | D.What they did for the community. |
A.She dreams of running a business. | B.She praises the 57th Street Books. |
C.She often brings cookies with her. | D.She tries to write a short story. |
A.They will mostly offer COVID testing. |
B.Their advantage has turned into nothing. |
C.They could take the place of e-business. |
D.Their growth is tied to the community. |
2 . Yesterday, after a day of Zoom (视频会议软件) meetings in my living room, I stepped out for a walk leaving my teen son bored on the couch. Bleecker Street, usually packed with people, was sprinkled with only the occasional pedestrians. Bars and restaurants lining the street were dark. Stores with bright neon lights, doors open, beckoned for the rare passers-by to enter. After just a week of the Covid-19 pandemic, an afternoon walk in Greenwich Village neighborhood felt surreal.
But then I noticed a row of daffodils(水仙)reaching for the sun in the small triangle-shaped park by Minetta Lane. On the windows of a locked restaurant, in bright yellow paint, were the words “We love you, West Village. Take care of each other. ” My phone buzzed—a colleague sent a picture of her newborn baby just home from the hospital. I arrived home to find my son animated on the couch playing a video game virtually with his friends. Life, love, play, and human connection persist, even though our world has been tuned upside down.
In my welcome note to the new students in the Fall, I wrote that this year is about our college’s core values of inclusion, innovation, and impact and emphasized the power of interconnection. Today, these core values persist, with interconnection taking on even greater significance. Our collaborative spirit has always given us an advantage—academically, creatively, culturally, and now, remotely.
A wise person once told me that getting through a crisis is like being given a new hand of cards in the middle of a game. We are halfway through the semester, with new hands to play, but the game hasn’t changed. We will find new ways to continue to work, teach, create and learn. Let’s also continue the informal interactions that make us a community—the study groups, coffee dates, drop-ins just to say hello. In doing so, we will remain connected.
We will come together, from spaces around the world, to meet this new reality. This is who we are. Nothing—not space, nor time—can keep us from moving forward, together.
1. What can be inferred from paragraph 1?A.The Covid-19 pandemic is unstoppable. |
B.The effects of the pandemic could be easily felt. |
C.Nothing is the same except that the business goes slow as usual. |
D.People have every reason to be worried about the future. |
A.Daily routines that seemed insignificant. |
B.Reminders that the world has been changed. |
C.Events that people can do during the pandemic. |
D.Things or people that carry symbolic meanings. |
A.Cooperative. | B.Pioneering. | C.Independent. | D.Adventurous. |
A.To express wisdom gained from previous experience. |
B.To give people some tips on how to handle a crisis. |
C.To deliver an uplifting message over the pandemic. |
D.To encourage people to enjoy the great outdoors. |
Stephen Hawking’s family have contributed the ventilator (呼吸机)
After a check by the hospital’s engineering team, the hospital
“After our father passed away, we returned all the medical equipment(医疗设备)to the National Health Service(NHS),” said Lucy Hawking,
Since the news was announced, it
4 . One of the luckiest things in life is that someone offers help when you are in need. Such warm stories happen these days in our city.
We’ve never depended on deliverymen for our daily needs so heavily as we do now, when we work from home to stop the spread of the COVID-19. Some of the deliverymen were afraid that they would not be able to come out to work the next day if they went home and found an overnight lockdown (封锁) in their communities. So they chose to sleep under overpasses (天桥) or on park benches. Photos of them sleeping in those outdoor places were put online. The next day, the government took action and offered them free places to live in either at hotels, at schools or at courier stations (快递站).
Another recent case that shows ordinary people are cared for was about a bun (面包) seller. The man left a message below a post on the Shenzhen Municipal Health Commission (市健康委员会)’s WeChat account. He said he had trouble running his store because of the recent spread of the COVID-19. Community workers in his area paid him a visit to see what they could do to help. On the night of the same day, the man received an unexpected large order from his community.
There is a long list of such small acts of kindness in almost every corner of the city. It tells us love and care is powerful to help us overcome the difficulties.
1. What does the underlined word “they” refer to?A.stories | B.companies | C.communities | D.deliverymen |
A.Their companies stopped them from going home. |
B.They would like to come out to work the next day. |
C.They wanted to stop the spread of the COVID-19. |
D.They discovered a lockdown in their communities. |
A.In hospitals. | B.At schools. |
C.Under overpasses. | D.On park benches. |
A.The community workers gave him a phone call. |
B.The community workers left a message to him. |
C.His community made an unexpected large order. |
D.His community offered him free places to live in. |
A.To tell us love and care can help us get through hard times. |
B.To invite us to do some voluntary work when we have time. |
C.To ask people to take action to fight against the COVID-19. |
D.To encourage more people to help the deliverymen in need. |
5 . One 18-month-old welcomes her big brothers home from school in the most beautiful way possible.
Having spent most of her
With the school year in Charlotte, North Carolina, now in full
“She never
“This is the
In a video recently posted online, Brittany
The video shows Liam, Levi and Lucas on one side of a road and Emmy on the other as both run to
“It’s such a
“One of the things in Indian culture is that
A.energy | B.life | C.nights | D.vacations |
A.new | B.younger | C.adult | D.older |
A.view | B.play | C.length | D.color |
A.visiting | B.finding | C.leaving | D.teaching |
A.agreed | B.wished | C.needed | D.experienced |
A.first | B.right | C.final | D.wrong |
A.learn from | B.stay with | C.look for | D.listen to |
A.planned | B.recorded | C.announced | D.celebrated |
A.likes | B.copies | C.questions | D.suggestions |
A.meet | B.hide | C.win | D.score |
A.writing down | B.handing in | C.calling out | D.searching for |
A.wash | B.pack | C.open | D.drop |
A.busy | B.quiet | C.sweet | D.private |
A.born | B.gone | C.lost | D.finished |
A.time | B.power | C.money | D.family |
6 . Get Digital Scotland, Simon Community Scotland’s digital inclusion programme, is proud to announce the start of Get Connected 100! This is a Scotland-wide project giving 100 people experiencing homelessness access to the digital world.
Our Get Connected 100 project will connect and support 100 people to get online. Each participant (参与者) will receive a free digital device (设备) and unlimited connectivity for 12 months. In addition to free digital technology, frontline workers at Simon Community and in our partner organisations are trained as digital champions to provide person-centred support based around a digital skills learning framework (框架). The project will give people easy access at all times, right in their pocket, and support to build skills and confidence to get online.
Research from the University of the West of Scotland shows us that people who experience homelessness are among the most digitally excluded (排斥的) groups in our society. This is a great disadvantage in life which has been worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to COVID-19 we depend even more heavily on digital technology for many daily activities: socialising with friends, managing finances (资金), getting the latest news, accessing health services and having fun. Digital technology has never been so important to our lives.
The project is being funded by the Scottish Government. Housing Minister Kevin Stewart said: “I am glad to fund this project to support 100 people experiencing homelessness in getting connected to the digital world. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us that access to digital equipment, data and skills is a basic necessity. The funding, as part of our £100 million winter support package, will certainly help people deal with the additional financial pressures of winter and COVID-19.”
Last year, Simon Community Scotland funded a “Get Connected Pilot” in Edinburgh to develop and test this approach. We wanted to make sure people facing loneliness during lockdown could get support and be connected with loved ones and professional services. The results for the people who were part of the pilot were life changing. 100% of participants said that getting a connected device and support through this pilot positively affected their lives. Our pilot showed that digital access opens up a whole world of opportunities!
1. What will the Get Connected 100 project provide?A.Costless digital devices. |
B.Improved broadband access. |
C.Lifelong unlimited connectivity. |
D.Training in communication skills. |
A.How digital technology has changed our life. |
B.Where digital technology will lead us. |
C.Who the project will benefit most. |
D.Why the project is needed. |
A.Curious. | B.Carefree. | C.Confused. | D.Confident. |
A.It is sure to be successful. |
B.It needs some improvements. |
C.It will spread all over the world. |
D.It has made a powerful difference. |
Every year I travel a lot to appreciate tourist
However, COVID-19
注意:词数100左右。 参考词汇:疫情pandemic 隔离lockdown (n.)
Dear Chris,
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours sincerely,
Li Hua
9 . Roberto Novo has styled the hair of a lot of stars. But during COVID-19, he’s turned his gifts to the heads of lesser-known, older New Yorkers- and he’s done it for free.
The Argentina-born stylist welcomes them to his Manhattan apartment or visits them in their homes. His two dogs keep everyone company. He calls his project “Free haircut and puppy love.”
It started last summer when he and his dogs visited a client who had been isolated (隔离) for months due to COVID-19. Seeing how happy it made her, he asked if she had friends in her apartment building who might be interested in a free hairdo.
“It doesn’t get any better than that — bring some joy to senior citizens in these hard times,” Novo said. “People are really suffering in this situation right now. So if I can help them with a simple haircut, that’s a gift.”
On a recent day, Novo and his dogs walked into Madelon Spier’s apartment and quickly turned the living room into a salon (美发厅). Sitting in a black chair, Spier waited to get her hair styled. “I think he’s an amazing artist. And we’re all pictures that he’s painting,” Spier said. “There’s his personality (特色), and his way of cutting — a way of looking at a person and knowing what’s right for them,” said Spier.
Neighbor Andrew Langerman said Novo also gave him his first haircut in months. “I’ve just been so lonely during COVID-19,” he said, and now, “I feel a lot better. I wasn’t really feeling very well when I came here but then I felt great just being with everybody. And I had a good haircut.”
As Novo finished a cut, he ordered pizzas that the group later shared. They talked and laughed.
“I always tell people if I die and I’m born again, I’ll do everything exactly the same way,” said Novo.
1. Why did Novo visit older New Yorkers?A.To take care of them. | B.To give them haircuts. |
C.To communicate with them easily. | D.To inspire them to fight against diseases. |
A.It created good feelings. | B.It strengthened his family ties. |
C.It excited his interest in painting. | D.It helped him get to know his neighbors. |
A.It is challenging. | B.It is unexpected. | C.It is amusing. | D.It is beautiful. |
A.Generous and sporty. | B.Creative and courageous. |
C.Caring and warm-hearted. | D.Far-sighted and strong-willed. |
Major school districts around the United States
As we all know, the rules relating to face coverings or masks have caused fights among
Falling COVID-19 infection rates and new federal health recommendations are the driving force for
Undoubtedly, wearing masks can cause trouble for students to understand