1 . My little niece was wandering through the garden in her home. Her father collected rare and precious plants, which he
My niece was
She figured out a plan to clean the plant. She
Later her father came to the garden and noticed the uprooted plant, which had lain
The father showed her how her treatment had nearly killed the plant and told her that the filthy soil provided the best
A great gardener mixes the
| A．attended to | B．brought up | C．looked out | D．fed on |
| A．caught | B．attacked | C．attracted | D．shocked |
| A．recalled | B．recognized | C．noticed | D．concluded |
| A．shortage | B．presence | C．presentation | D．composition |
| A．pulled | B．picked | C．held | D．pushed |
| A．flowers | B．roots | C．leaves | D．branches |
| A．project | B．deal | C．operation | D．deed |
| A．boiling | B．bathing | C．breathing | D．dying |
| A．confirm | B．check | C．exhibit | D．assess |
| A．happily | B．coldly | C．fearfully | D．patiently |
| A．shelter | B．medicine | C．agency | D．medium |
| A．same | B．right | C．dirty | D．loose |
| A．Moreover | B．Similarly | C．Rather | D．Nevertheless |
| A．environment | B．style | C．neighborhood | D．opportunity |
| A．invisible | B．disorganized | C．improper | D．unpleasant |
2 . I have struggled with feelings of unworthiness since forever. My most painful moments were at parties. My friends made fun of me because I was rhythmically (有节奏地)
Around age 12, I decided that the way to
After several years of spiritual growth, it
The
| A．adjusted | B．bothered | C．challenged | D．compromised |
| A．twisted | B．annoyed | C．limited | D．awkward |
| A．belong | B．appeal | C．match | D．deserve |
| A．solve | B．cure | C．release | D．arouse |
| A．sustain | B．work | C．hatch | D．dismiss |
| A．included | B．excluded | C．inspired | D．appreciated |
| A．internally | B．academically | C．professionally | D．contemporarily |
| A．occurs to | B．happens to | C．calls on | D．knocks on |
| A．desires | B．strengths | C．accomplishments | D．harmony |
| A．as well as | B．as soon as | C．as much as | D．as far as |
| A．Still | B．However | C．Meanwhile | D．Rather |
| A．definition | B．resolution | C．sense | D．pose |
| A．discovery | B．access | C．journey | D．experience |
| A．emphasis | B．burden | C．demand | D．conditions |
| A．valley | B．forest | C．dance | D．balcony |
The long-awaited TV series Blossoms Shanghai has been released in two versions — Mandarin (普通话) and the Shanghai dialect — on Dec 27, quickly soaring as one of the
Amid his journey to success, the protagonist (主角) has received help from multiple
4 . For a scholar focusing on Australia’s public diplomacy (外交活动), working as a recreational manager in China may never be part of his career path. But Bradley does have lots to say now about his special experience at a resort in the picturesque tropical coastal city of Sanya in South China’s Hainan province.
The 33-year-old Australian is actually a student in international relations completing his PhD through Griffith University. He came to Beijing for a cooperative research at Peking University less than two years ago. Such an academic life was just added color with a chance offered by the cultural exchanges project, “I’m in China”.
“What I liked most about the experience was it was something completely different that you would never be able to do as a regular tourist,” Bradley said in an interview. Bradley was chosen to work as a recreational manager for a Chinese wedding.
The film crew took them to many “amazing sites” and the staff at the resort taught them a lot about how to “incorporate modern Chinese features while still keeping traditional customs”, Bradley said.
“I would have to say two things stick out as the most memorable: the helicopter ride and talking with the staff at the hotel about how to organize weddings here in China,” he said.
That was Bradley’s first time to be in a helicopter, and he was too absorbed with the “stunning” view of the beautiful coastline.
“I think it is so important to show other Australians the different landscapes China has to offer. I think so many Australians, when they think about China, imagine the historical sites of Beijing and the exciting things to see in Shanghai but have no idea about other beautiful places, like Sanya or the many other places people have been taken to in this TV series,” Bradley said.
“I’m in China” is a project sponsored by China Intercontinental Communication Centre and other institutions under the guidance of China’s State Council Information Office. It invites foreign natives worldwide to experience unique jobs and participate in activities that one can find nowhere else except in China. More than 10,000 photos and articles were submitted from around the globe by over 6,00 applicants.
1. What does Bradley actually do?| A．He’s an Australian PhD student. | B．He’s a regular Australian tourist. |
| C．He’s a professional recreational manager. | D．He’s an Australian diplomat. |
| A．Get rid of. | B．Turn down. | C．Take in. | D．Keep off. |
| A．The beautiful scenery of Sanya and special activities. |
| B．Flying in a helicopter and organizing Chinese wedding. |
| C．The historical sites of Beijing and the exciting things in Shanghai. |
| D．Chinese traditional customs and many amazing sites. |
| A．unique but unattractive to foreigners |
| B．special but helpless to know about China |
| C．uninteresting and rejected by foreigners |
| D．unique and popular with foreigners |
5 . It’s a race against time, as generations of cultural heritage conservators at the Dunhuang Academy make a great effort to protect the artistic charm of the Mogao Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, despite erosion (侵蚀) by sand and wind.
The team is devoted to protecting the 45,000 square meters of murals (壁画) and more than 2,400 painted sculptures of the 735 caves of the site, the construction of which spans about a thousand years, from the 4th century to the 14th century. The cultural relics are the product of the cultural exchanges that took place over centuries on the ancient Silk Road. “Our work, repairing murals and painted sculptures, is to better preserve the caves, which promotes the great Dunhuang spirit of inclusiveness to the world and inspires modern people,” says Su Bomin, director of the Dunhuang Academy.
Commonly seen “diseases” affecting the murals include cracking and flaking, as well as erosion that is caused by changes in temperature and humidity of the caves, and the deposition of salts. To restore a mural requires an all-rounder. Restorers should know painting, master the skills of a mason and have some knowledge of chemistry and physics, to be able to recognize the problems and their corresponding causes and deliver a solution. They must also select proper materials and tools, and conduct experiments, before formally carrying out the restoration and evaluating the effect afterward.
The restoration should respect the original work and aim to maintain the status quo of the murals rather than repainting them. When the restorers find some parts of murals missing or fading away, they never repaint them to create a “perfect” appearance in restoration. “Cultural relics are witnesses of history,” explains Su. “When you pursue the so-called intact (完好无损的) look for artistic reasons, you will lose their key meaning.”
Cave conservation is about continuously solving problems. “It needs a long-term research to better preserve the caves, over a much wider time span that goes beyond our lifetimes,” Su says. But at least, they can keep the current look of the murals for as long as possible.
1. What is the main purpose of paragraph 2?| A．To show the popularity of Dunhuang murals. |
| B．To explain the history of the ancient Silk Road. |
| C．To stress the significance of the restoration work. |
| D．To present the ways of protecting cultural heritage. |
| A．Demanding. | B．Well-paid. | C．Interesting. | D．Creative. |
| A．Spotting the faded murals in time. |
| B．Fixing the missing parts of murals. |
| C．Maintaining the current look of murals. |
| D．Repainting to perfect the appearance of murals. |
| A．The Artistic Charm of Mural Paintings |
| B．The Mural Restoration in the Mogao Caves |
| C．The Successful Experiment on Cave Conservation |
| D．The Role of the Dunhuang Spirit in Chinese Culture |
There are all kinds of enemies, and one of the arts of living is to learn to tell them apart. But consider the kind who never meant to be an enemy at all, and doesn’t want to be an enemy, really. He’s not mad at you; he’s mad at the world, and if you are wandering around on his lonely battlefield, you get shot, which is not meant for you at all.
Let me tell you about one of them. She was the dark-eyed daughter of our town barber: a big, stormy Gina Lollobrigida. Years ago, I brought my two little girls home from South America and put them in school down the road. They talked a very peculiar language that was neither English nor Spanish, and their classmates gave them a hard time. Especially Gina, who was older and the ringleader (元凶) of the terror of the tiny kids. She had an air of anger with her fiery eyes, which seemed to pierce through anyone who dared to cross her path. Her words were hurtful, and even in moments of silence, the tension surrounding her was evident, like a thick wall built between her and the rest of the world. When my daughters were misunderstood and teased because of an unfamiliar language, Gina proved to be the most troublesome among all the students, dominating the younger children and causing chaos whenever she pleased.
Pat and Peggy came home crying almost every day, so I decided to cheer them up. “Let’s have a party,” I said. Pat’s and Peggy’s tears dried magically. Right away they got creative: “Ice cream! Cake, big red balloons!”
“And friends?” I said. The tears started again. “We haven’t got any friends,” Pat cried. Peggy howled, “Nothing but enemies.” Then I had one of my rare inspirations. “Let’s have an enemy party. Let’s invite all your enemies – and we’ll fill them up with ice cream and cake and give them red balloons to take home.
Little Pat and Peggy exchanged knowing looks, and one of them said in Spanish, “Qué passa al Viejo?” (“What is wrong with dad?”)
It turned out that the “Enemy Party” was a mad, merry success.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Another bonus of the party was that Gina seemed a different person afterwards.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________7 . How to deal with decision paralysis (瘫痪)
If you’ve ever gone online to order something during a work break-let’s say a new electric toothbrush-expecting it to be fairly easy, but instead you found yourself overwhelmed by the huge number of choices available, you’ve experienced decision paralysis.
You’re shocked that there are so many factors to consider; not only the basics, such as price and delivery time, but there are many other factors like battery duration, warning lights for too much pressure and even fancy apps.
This is just one example of decision paralysis-when the huge number of choices and the difficulty of weighing the supermarket up-leads you to freeze. It used to be thought that increased choice could only be a good thing for consumers and they would welcome it, but actually it can bring the opposite effect and cause people to walk away.
If you’re willing to put in the effort, a practical approach is to reduce the mental complexity involved in a decision by doing a little research.
| A．You could always make a random choice. |
| B．Make some brief notes about the prior factors to you. |
| C．There are various ways to overcome decision paralysis. |
| D．You’ll end up with a score showing you the most favourable decision. |
| E．The clock is ticking on your break and it’s impossible to make a decision. |
| F．This is all that you’ll miss out on once you choose to go down a particular path. |
| G．In other life situations, it might be the weight of the decision that bears down on you. |
Anna had a car accident when she was a teenager. She lost her arms because of that. What’s
Anna lost her arms, but she chose to face it in a positive (积极的) way. Instead of feeling sad every day, she decided not to let it hold her back. She has taught us a good lesson.
When something bad happens to us, we have two
9 . Red Cross Apps Guide Survivalists through Natural Disasters
Red Cross has several apps that will help you in a natural disaster.
·Emergency App
For an all-in-one reference for any catastrophe, the Emergency App is the answer.
·Earthquake App
·Hurricane App
This is a musthave for people in hurricane areas.
·Shelter Finder App
In case your emergency shelter wasn’t built to withstand whatever disaster came your way, the Shelter Finder App uses data from the National Shelter System and maps out the secured shelters across the country. Other than the address, the app also supplies you with details such as the agency running the shelter, capacity and current population of the shelter, among others.
| A．The global earthquake rate is rising. |
| B．Each app is available on iOS and Android devices. |
| C．It contains information on over 35 different types of emergency situations. |
| D．These details are updated within every thirty minutes, so you’ll always stay posted. |
| E．Track storms and the condition in your area so that you can take the proper precautions. |
| F．The modern survivalist knows your smartphone is the best tool to keep you on your feet. |
| G．For other apps specific to a natural disaster, the Red Cross also has apps for floods, tornadoes, and wildfires. |
10 . While Alice has her adventures in the Wonderland, you can have your own as well this summer. British contemporary artist Philip Colbert has created a Lobster (龙虾) Wonderland in Changsha, Hunan Province.
Date: July 15
Location: Changsha International Finance Square (Changsha IFS)
About Philip Colbert
His globally welcomed lobster series has won the hearts of a large number of followers. The artist, with a master’s in philosophy, takes lobster as his second personality.
Through large installations, public art theme exhibition and new media art, the artist has introduced works from galleries and created a surreal art scenery in city’s public space with a combination of pop art and local culture.
Features
In Changsha IFS, Colbert’s exhibition, which is the London-based artist’s first large-scale outdoor public art installations, has three major sectors, showcasing his large installations, sculptures and new media arts as well as the special works created for the event.
The opening ceremony, an art carnival, saw the debut (首次登台) of a 12-meter-long Lobster Taikonaut specially made by Colbert. His Lobster Flower and Lobster Shark also found their way in the parade. At the southwest square, people can find Lobster Fountain towering 12 meters and enjoy two major theme sectors, Lobster Island and Lobster Skate Park.
Lobster Rainbow, a lobster breaking through a roof with a rainbow behind it, is the artist’s brand-new work for Changsha IFS. In his works, such as Daydreamer, Colbert also expresses his wish of narrowing the distance between art pieces and people.
1. What is Philip Colbert well known for?| A．Alice Wonderland. | B．Shark experience. |
| C．Lobster series. | D．Rainbow story. |
| A．It took place in the open air. |
| B．There was no special works for the event. |
| C．People can enjoy lobster fountain and lake. |
| D．Lobster Island is the artist’s brand-new work for Changsha IFS. |
| A．A shopping brochure. |
| B．An art magazine. |
| C．A science report. |
| D．A fashion advertisement. |
