1 . Learning to say “yes, and”
When I first heard about the improvisation (即兴交流) class, I was hesitating. As a quiet and shy girl, I feared improvising in front of strangers. However, I knew I wanted to work as a science communicator after finishing my Ph.D., so it seemed like a perfect chance to learn how to speak and communicate with others effectively. I signed up, knowing the experience would give me help.
During our first class, we learned an important concept of improvisation: “yes, and.” It means that, as improvisers, we’d better accept what fellow performers say. If someone says that rhinos (犀牛) are librarians, for example, then rhinos are librarians. We do not question the logic; we say “yes” and then continue with the scene as if nothing is wrong.
The first few scenes were hard, but as weeks turned into months, I became more comfortable and even started to enjoy our classes. I became better at listening, relating to my conversation partners, and communicating clearly in the moment. Once when I was giving a presentation about my science, an audience member surprised me with a question that didn’t grow out of the information I’d presented. Instead of getting confused and nervous, I took the “yes, and” approach—accepting the question and letting my mind focus on why it was asked. That helped me find an appropriate answer. I got pretty excited about it.
The benefits of improvisation go beyond communication. Before attending the class, I would get stuck when my experiments produced unexpected data, thinking that I had made a mistake. But now, instead of getting discouraged, I will stay open to the possibility that the results are real, keep exploring the data and end up identifying a new type of cell—one that isn’t behaving as expected.
I think all scientists can benefit from this lesson. If the data say rhinos are librarians, then it’s worth finding out whether rhinos are, in fact, librarians. As scientists, our job isn’t to challenge data that support, a preconceived story, but to say “yes, and.”
1. Why did the author attend the improvisation class?| A．To get a different experience. |
| B．To finish her Ph.D. at university. |
| C．To give up her job as a science communicator. |
| D．To improve her speaking and communicating ability. |
| A．She formed her own idea quickly. |
| B．She came up with lots of creative responses. |
| C．She paid more attention to the logic of answers. |
| D．She became a good listener before giving an opinion. |
| A．explain the process of using the method |
| B．prove the benefits of the improvisation class |
| C．share her own research experiences with readers |
| D．attract fellow scientists to attend the improvisation class |
| A．They should attend the improvisation class. |
| B．They should question all preconceived ideas. |
| C．They should carry on research by admitting earlier data. |
| D．They should try to improve their academic knowledge. |
2 . The demand for digital audio (音频的) books is growing very rapidly. Let’s first look at why this has happened. The busy lifestyle leaves us little time to sit down and read a paper book. Besides, we all have time in the day when we are not really busy mentally. Therefore, we listen and “read” when doing other things.
An audio book, read by a professional narrator who is telling you the story, is an ideal way to “read” books that you wanted to read for long but that lack of time did not permit you to read. Storytelling has a very long tradition and with the new technology, it is gaining popularity again.
“For many people, listening to an audio book is an opportunity to hear an author firsthand,” says Mary Beth Roche, president of the Audio Publishers Association. “It’s like having the very best lecture series, not just in your own town, but in your own car or home — and at your command, they’ll read when YOU are ready to listen.”
Audio books used to be thought of as limited special products for only the blind and sight-impaired (视力受损的) or for kids and lazy people who either can not or do not want to read themselves. This has greatly changed over the last few years. A study found that the average listener of audio books is about 45 years of age and has an average yearly income of over $50,000, and at least a college education and often more advanced degrees. And these people have practical knowledge or understanding of the Internet.
Moreover, audio books are especially good for children who hate to read because of problems in school. That way they are familiar with the adventure of using their own imagination to paint their mental pictures of what they hear, rather than just staring at the TV screen. Also, if they have the book and the audio, reading along can help them overcome reading problems.
1. Who most probably like digital audio books?| A．People who love high-tech products. |
| B．People who prefer listening to stories. |
| C．People who read anytime and anywhere. |
| D．People who cannot spare time for reading. |
| A．By doing experiments. | B．By giving examples. |
| C．By analyzing causes. | D．By making comparisons. |
| A．Reduce their screen time. | B．Raise their interest in reading. |
| C．Develop their imagination. | D．Improve their listening skills. |
| A．Audio Books — A Popular Choice Now |
| B．Audio Books — An Alternative to Paper Books |
| C．Audio Books — A New Source of Knowledge |
| D．Audio Books — A New Idea about Reading |
注意：1. 词数110左右；2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
参考词汇：家风family spirit
良好品质 good qualities
代代相传pass on from generation to generation
Dear Michael，
I'm glad to receive your email in which you said that you wanted to know something about my family spirit.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours ,
Li Hua
注意：1.每处错误及其修改仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Zhong Fangrong, a girl student from the small village, made headlines for her high score. Describing as a “left-behind girl” by Chinese media, Zhong was raised by her grandparents. what surprising people most was that she signed up archaeology, one of the least popular major in China. Zhong reaffirmed her decision to major in archaeology(考古学) on Tuesday, ignoring the head-shaking of shocked netizens. Zhong, who score in the latest Gaokao was among the best in China, could have chosen virtual any major at any university in the country. She once said it was the famous Chinese archaeologist Fan Jinshi which had influenced her and gave in her the confidence to study archaeology, and she wanted to follow in Fan's footsteps and devote himself to the field.
5 . Toni Morrison was an American writer who received the Nobel Prize in Literature. Her novels, Beloved, Song of Solomon and others explored the way African-Americans search for freedom and identity in a country obsessed (受困扰的) with skin colour. Morrison was nearly 40 when she published her first novel The Bluest Eye in 1970. The Nobel Prize committee described her writing as “language itself, a language she wants to liberate from race”. Her novels discussed America’s past, focusing on black history and the effects of slavery and racism. She called her characters “the unfree at the heart of the democratic experiment”.
In 1988, she won the Pulitzer Prize for her novel Beloved, the story of a mother who kills her baby daughter rather than permit her to return to slavery. It became a best-seller and was later made into a film. Many Americans admired her as the country’s greatest writer, including former President Barack Obama.
She was born in 1931. She attended Howard University, an all-black university in Washington, DC. At Howard, she read African, British and American literature, including writers William Faulkner and Virginia Woolf. After a short marriage, she became a single mother of two sons and worked as a book editor in New York.
Several publishers rejected her first book The Bluest Eye, but it impressed The New York Times’ book critic John Leonard, who believed Morrison was an important new voice. He said her writing was “so full of pain and wonder that the novel becomes poetry”.
Morrison enjoyed her literary fame and was proud of her Nobel Prize.
1. What are Toni Morrison’s books mainly about?| A．Women’s equality and rights. | B．The development of America. |
| C．The literature of America. | D．Black history and racism. |
| A．Beloved. | B．Song of Solomon. |
| C．The Bluest Eye. | D．The New York Times. |
| A．To show Barack Obama’s support in literature. |
| B．To prove Toni Morrison’s greatness as a writer. |
| C．To stress Toni Morrison’s contribution to America. |
| D．To remind readers of the skin colour of Barack Obama. |
| A．He thought highly of Morrison. |
| B．He rejected the book The Bluest Eye. |
| C．The book The Bluest Eye made him painful. |
| D．Toni Morrison’s book was hard to understand. |
6 . If you have a bad habit of losing things, a new device that can be connected to any item that you might lose may be the way to solve your problem. The Tile, a small square linked up to your iPhone or iPad via Bluetooth, lets you see how close you are to the missing item, within a 50-to 150-foot range. If the item goes out of your phone's 150-foot range, it can still be detected on other smart phones with the same app.
When you log into the app on your phone, it shows you, with green bars that increase or decrease, how far away you are from the Tile. You can also program it to make a sound when you get close to the Tile. And you can link up your phone with up to ten Tiles. And if your lost item — a dog, for example, or a stolen bike — goes out of your own phone's 150-foot Bluetooth range, you can set it as a "lost item". If any of the phones with the Tile app comes within the range of your lost item, a message will be sent to your own phone, reminding you of its position. The Tile app also has the function to remember where it last saw your Tile, so that you can easily find where you left it.
Since the Tiles use Bluetooth rather than GPS, they never run out of battery or need to be charged, and they last for one year before needing to be replaced.
1. The Tile app can help you _________.| A．find your missing items | B．use your phone more wisely |
| C．save your phone's battery power | D．connect something to your phone |
| A．The Tile needs to be charged after a year of use. |
| B．One smart phone can only be linked up to one Tile. |
| C．The Tile cannot work when linked up to a phone without Bluetooth. |
| D．A missing item can't be found if it goes out of the needed range. |
| A．What the Tile app is. | B．How the Tile app works. |
| C．The advantages of the Tile app. | D．Why the Tile app was invented. |
| A．A science fiction novel. | B．An advertisement. |
| C．A personal diary. | D．A news report. |
7 . Remember when your mom told you not to eat too many candy bars or sweets because they can cause tooth decay (蛀牙)? However, it turns out that chocolate can be more salutary to your teeth than you might expect. Recent studies show that chocolate can effectively fight against tooth decay, as if we need another excuse to eat chocolate.
Chocolate offers protection like fluoride, a main ingredient in most household toothpastes. Not only does chocolate protect our teeth, but it can do so very effectively. Studies show that chocolate has compounds that provide strong protection for teeth. One of the compounds in chocolate, CBH, is shown to protect even more effectively than fluoride.
Tooth decay happens when bacteria work to turn sugar into acids in our mouth. This is why eating foods with high sugar content can lead to more tooth decay. The compounds in chocolate, however, are anti-bacteria and can fight against bacteria in your mouth. The CBH compound in particular also works to strengthen tooth enamel (牙釉质), and protects against tooth decay.
Does this mean you can cat as much chocolate as you want without worrying about your teeth? It depends on the types of chocolate that you like. The protective effect of chocolate is most effective when you chew on cocoa beans. Of course, this option is not very appealing to; most people. A more tasty option is to choose dark chocolate with little sugar content, ideally no more than 6 to 8 grams per serving. For other types of chocolate with higher sugar content, the effect will be lessened. However, because of the protective compounds, it is still better for your teeth than other sweets and desserts containing the same amount of sugar.
1. The word “salutary” in paragraph 1 means?| A．Beneficial. | B．Harmful. | C．Familiar. | D．Useless. |
| A．It can help chocolate cure tooth decay. |
| B．It can effectively stop teeth from decaying. |
| C．It may protect teeth better than toothpastes do. |
| D．It may soon replace most household toothpastes. |
| A．By breaking down acids. | B．By building up compounds. |
| C．By fixing up tooth enamel. | D．By fighting against bacteria. |
| A．Chocolate plays the role of toothpaste. |
| B．Chocolate protects against tooth decay. |
| C．Chocolate is the best choice for teeth protection. |
| D．Chocolate is healthier to teeth than other sweets. |
The origin of facial makeup used in Peking Opera can date back to more than 1,400 years ago,
Chinese Opera facial makeup is a special makeup method
There
9 . Once there was a tailor who lived in a house on a side street in East Boston and
For fourteen years his life
The little tailor could hardly
He
Night after night he partied until dawn, spending his money
Disillusioned and extremely tired, he
Two years later there came a second knock at his door. The same two gentlemen stood there once again. “This is the most
The little tailor staggered to his feet with a complaint that could be
| A．escaped | B．worked | C．wasted | D．waited |
| A．trapped | B．charged | C．controlled | D．allowed |
| A．proved | B．report | C．pray | D．pretend |
| A．fortune | B．holiday | C．lesson | D．wisdom |
| A．continued | B．improved | C．broke | D．stopped |
| A．speaker | B．noise | C．knock | D．voice |
| A．promised | B．warned | C．taught | D．informed |
| A．believe | B．find | C．touch | D．cover |
| A．merely | B．really | C．hardly | D．fairly |
| A．damaged | B．repaired | C．locked | D．rented |
| A．sorry | B．famous | C．anxious | D．fit |
| A．as if | B．even though | C．now that | D．so that |
| A．disappeared | B．changed | C．happened | D．mattered |
| A．However | B．Otherwise | C．Furthermore | D．Therefore |
| A．determined | B．refused | C．hesitated | D．failed |
| A．class | B．business | C．company | D．job |
| A．honesty | B．position | C．success | D．habit |
| A．gave away | B．set aside | C．picked up | D．work out |
| A．accurate | B．beneficial | C．common | D．unbelievable |
| A．recorded | B．heard | C．ignored | D．passed |
The Chicago Public Library (CPL) encourages lifelong learning by welcoming all people and offering equal access to information, entertainment and knowledge through materials, programs and events. Each year, Chicago Public Library recommends the Best of the Best, CPL’s selections of the very best books published that year.
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● Upcoming Events at West Town
Design Challenge Day
Description: Are you up for a challenge? Drop in and tackle some design challenges using supplies provided by the library. Prizes will be awarded for the most creative submissions.
Suitable for: Kids and Teens
Time: Tuesday, March 24, 2020, 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Film Screening: The Zookeeper’s Wife (2017)
Description: Join the West Town branch for a screening of The Zookeeper’s Wife. A married couple who work as zoo caretakers help save Jewish people from the Nazi’s Holocaust.
Suitable for: Adults and Teens
Time: Tuesday, March 31, 2020, 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
1. When can people go and read in Chicago Public Library?| A．11:00 am, April 29, 2020. | B．2:00 pm, May 25, 2020. |
| C．9:00 am, July 5, 2020. | D．6:00 pm, November 26, 2020. |
| A．Paying for it in your free time on a yearly basis. |
| B．Providing a recent photo and an application. |
| C．Applying on the library’s official website first. |
| D．Having a valid ID with name, photo and Chicago address. |
| A．It targets adults as their major participants. |
| B．Participants will compete for prizes. |
| C．The activity will last for nearly 2 hours. |
| D．Winners can watch The Zookeeper’s Wife for free. |
