1.表示歉意；
2.说明原因；
3.另约时间。
注意：1. 词数80左右；2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
Dear Tom,
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Yours,
Li Hua
2 . The Biggest Stadiums in the World
People have been pouring into stadiums since the days of ancient Greece. In around 80 A.D., the Romans built the Colosseum, which remains the world’s best known stadium and continues to inform contemporary design. Rome’s Colosseum was 157 feet tall and had 80 entrances, seating 50,000 people. However, that was small fry compared with the city’s Circus Maximus, which accommodated around 250,000 people.
These days, safety regulations-not to mention the modern sports fan’s desire for a good view and comfortable seat — tend to keep stadium capacities (容量) slightly lower. Even soccer fans tend to have a seat each; gone are the days of thousands standing to watch the match.
For the biggest stadiums in the world, we have used data supplied by the World Atlas list so far, which ranks them by their stated permanent capacity, as well as updated information from official stadium websites.
All these stadiums are still functional, still open and still hosting the biggest events in world sport.
·Rungrado 1st of May Stadium, Pyongyang D.P.R. Korea. Capacity: 150,000. Opened: May 1,1989.
·Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan, U. S. Capacity: 107,601. Opened: October 1, 1927.
·Beaver Stadium, State College, Pennsylvania, U. S. Capacity: 106,572. Opened: September 17, 1960.
·Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio, U. S. Capacity: 104,944. Opened: October 7,1922.
·Kyle Field, College Station, Texas, U. S. Capacity: 102,512. Opened: September 24, 1927.
1. How many people could the Circus Maximus hold?| A．104,944. | B．107,601. | C．About 150,000. | D．About 250,000. |
| A．Michigan Stadium. | B．Beaver Stadium. | C．Ohio Stadium. | D．Kyle Field. |
| A．They host big games. | B．They have become tourist attractions. |
| C．They were built by Americans. | D．They are favored by architects. |
Sugars are popular in the processed food industry because they add taste, colour and thickness to food products. The studies have shown that sugars can provide a source of energy. The body breaks down the sugar into simple forms that can be readily used in the body. But too much sugar can contribute to health problems like obesity and tooth disease.
Having too much sugar is not the only reason for obesity or being overweight，but it does add to the amount of kilojoules in food. Eating too much of any food, without doing enough exercise,will cause you to become overweight.
Governments in the United States and United Kingdom are waging a war on sugar in the interests of public health. Both countries claim that the overconsumption of sugar by much of the population is harmful to people’s health. On Thursday，the U.S government issued new dietary guidelines that strongly recommend people receive less than 10 per cent of their daily calorie intake from added sugar. On the same day，British Prime Minister David Cameron said he has not ruled out the idea of a tax on sugar to encourage consumers to buy food with reduced levels of the sweet. Politicians in the U.K. are debating how a reduction in the intake of sugar could help reduce Britain’s rising rates of obesity.
The American and British governments both refer to a study conducted in Mexico that showed a tax on sugary，carbonated drinks led to a reduction in consumption. The tax was carried out on January 1，2014 and purchases of the taxed drinks went down by 12 per cent by December of that year. Sales of mineral water increased by 4 per cent over the same period. An alternative(可替代物) to taxing sugared drinks is to reduce the level of sugar in them. Researchers at Queen Mary University in London say that reducing the sugar content in sugar－sweetened drinks by 40 percent over five years could prevent one million cases of obesity in the U．K. Researchers say people might not even notice the changes.
4 . The Shanghai Wildlife Park is holding an “Olympic Games” for animals and welcomes sports fans to collect for Wildlife Protection Society. More than 300 animals from around the country will be competing in the National Sports Meeting for Animals.
To the accompanying music of “The Sportsmen’s March”, elephants, camels, monkeys, zebras, sheep and bears will march onto the field. They will be competing in the various events of the “Games” including bicycle racing, skating, gymnastics, boxing, football and rope skipping.
Boxing is always a highlight as the two best fighters － the bears － are said to be the respective kings of the South and the North. Heihei is from Heilongiang Province and Guigui is from Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The match looks interesting and exciting but both boxers won’t fight according to the rules. They never listen to the referee (裁判).
Sea lions are skilled ball players in the water. But even an excellent player can sometimes make a mistake. When a sea lion misses the ball, it puts its “hands” to its face as if ashamed of the missed shot.
If the audience are brave enough to accept a kiss from a sea lion, they can have their picture taken with the animal.
The organizers also invite the audience to compete with another star of the “Games” in a game of tug-of-war (拔河). An elephant will be on their opposite side. But even 20 strong men won’t be a match for this elephant. Just by using its trunk, it can pull all comers to the ground.
The sports meeting starts at about 10 a. m. each day and will last a whole week.
1. How many kinds of animals are mentioned in the text?| A．Six. |
| B．Seven. |
| C．Nine. |
| D．Over 300. |
| A．The most dangerous part. |
| B．The most enjoyable part. |
| C．A close match. |
| D．A violent fight. |
| A．Strong. |
| B．Gentle. |
| C．Voilent. |
| D．Skillful. |
| A．To select the best animal of its kind. |
| B．To raise money to protect wildlife. |
| C．To improve the animals’ health. |
| D．To entertain the sports fans. |
1.生平简介；2、感人事迹及贡献：3、人生启迪。
注意：要求100词左右，标题已给出，不计入总词数；可适当增加细节以使行文连贯。
The Father of Hybrid Rice
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6 . Living with your parents has its advantages… at least when it comes to raising your kids—their grandkids. Because two new studies add to the evidence that grandmothers can improve the survival of grandchildren. That is, unless Grandma’s too old or lives too far away.
Humans are unusual in that women live long past the age at which they stop having babies. “We don’t really see that in nature. Most of the organisms (生物) will reproduce up to their very last moment,” says Patrick Bergeron, a teacher at Bishop’s University in Quebec. This increase in post-reproductive longevity (寿命) is often explained by the so-called “grandmother effect (效应)”.
To explore the “grandmother effect”, Bergeron and his researchers examined nearly 200 years’ worth of French-Canadian population records from the 17th and 18th centuries. At the time, life was hard. In some years, a third of the kids were not even making it to one year of age. But the researchers found that having a grandmother still alive was an advantage. Families with grandmothers alive were larger by about two and the survival of these grandchildren to age 15 was much improved.
This good effect was only seen when the grandmothers lived nearby, which suggests that grandmothers help by playing an active role in their grandchildren’s lives.
Unluckily, that role is harder for them to achieve as they get older, which brings us to the second study. Researchers at the University of Turku in Finland used church records from the 18th and 19th centuries. They found that the advantages connected with having a grandmother on hand depended on her age. Once grandmothers hit 75, the grandchild survival advantages disappeared. In other words, it was better for grandchildren to have no living grandmother at all than it was to live with an old one or one that was in poor health. So a healthy grandma helps make for a healthy grandchild
1. What’s “grandmother effect”?| A．Having a grandmother alive is an advantage. |
| B．Grandmothers are helpful to their children whatever their age. |
| C．Grandmothers are helpful for the survival of their grandchildren. |
| D．Healthy grandmothers living nearby are good for grandchildren’s health. |
| A．Researchers used French-Canadian population records. |
| B．Researchers used church records from the 17th and 18th centuries. |
| C．It was done by researchers from the University of Turku in Finland. |
| D．It found that it was good for grandchildren to have no living grandmother. |
| A．A science report. | B．A diary |
| C．A storybook. | D．A textbook. |
7 . Mice and rats have long been used in medical research because of their biological similarities to humans. Recently scientists at the University of Richmond in Virginia have trained rats to drive small vehicles.
The research team built tiny cars out of plastic and other materials, which had an opening at one end to which electrical wires were attached. By touching one of three different wires, the rat could control the car in different directions-left, center and right. Sweet treats were placed inside the containers in an attempt to get the rats to drive the vehicle for the food. After several months' training, the animals could drive to get to the treats.
Kelly Lambert, who has long been interested in the way the brain changes to react to different experiences and difficulties, led the experiment. She told the French news agency AFP the research suggested rat brains might be more complex and flexible than once thought. The driving activity seemed to help the rats relax and the rats kept in what was called “enriched environments” performed far better than those in labs.
The researchers examined levels of two hormones (荷尔蒙) in the rats — one that causes stress and the other that counters it. All the rats that took part in the training had higher levels of the hormone that reduces stress. The research suggests the increased relaxation levels could be linked to the enjoyment of successfully completing a new skill. The team also found the rats that drove themselves showed higher levels of the stress-fighting hormone than those that simply rode in small cars controlled by humans.
Lambert's team is planning to further the research to learn more about how the rats learned to drive. This research may open new areas of non-drug treatments for people suffering from mental health conditions.
1. Why have scientists chosen rats for the research?| A．They can build tiny vehicles on their own. |
| B．They are biologically similar to human beings. |
| C．They are clever enough to be trained to drive cars. |
| D．They can be used as non-drug treatments for humans. |
| A．removes. | B．substitutes. |
| C．resists. | D．transforms. |
| A．The brains of rats might be more complex and flexible than those of human beings. |
| B．The increased relaxation levels led to the rats' enjoyment of learning a new skill. |
| C．All the rats involved in the training had higher levels of the hormone causing stress. |
| D．The rats in cars controlled by humans had lower levels of the stress-fighting hormone. |
| A．Science. | B．Sports. |
| C．Education. | D．Entertainment. |
8 . An unusual trip to Hawaii brought two strangers closer and closer and their story deserves a wide spread.
As her plane sliced through the sky above the ocean, there came a sudden thunderstorm. Five minutes later, Uemoto and her copilot McMahon heard a strange sound. Then, without warning, they lost power to both of the engines. It took them a moment to process the fact that they might crash. The pilots powered through the items on the emergency checklist. Nothing worked. As the plane was falling, they jumped into the ocean.
By ten that night, their bodies began trembling uncontrollably in the cool night air. Something must be done to pull them through. Swimming on her stomach, Uemoto had McMahon wrap his arms around her knees so he could rest his head on the back of her legs. To be with someone else and to feel another person's comforting presence in the darkness somehow made the suffering bearable.
When the sun rose the next morning, they caught sight of the island of Hawaii, the destination they had dared dream! Suddenly, Uemoto saw a shark, which made her breath catch in her throat. "What do we do? What do we do?" Uemoto asked, panicked. "Just keep looking forward! If it comes close, I'll kick it in the eye!" said McMahon evenly. Unexpectedly, the shark circled them for about 30 minutes. Then, as quietly as it had appeared, it swam off. Uemoto and McMahon breathed a sigh of relief.
After struggling in the water for over 20 hours, there came a US Navy helicopter. It flew overhead and next banked towards them. Uemoto and McMahon burst into tears. Alone, either of them would have died. But together, they made it.
1. What caused the plane to crash?| A．A sudden thunderstorm hit the plane. |
| B．The engines of the plane broke down. |
| C．The pilots operated the plane improperly. |
| D．The emergency list failed to help the pilots. |
| A．He calmed his partner down. |
| B．He kicked the shark in the eye. |
| C．He was scared to death at the shark. |
| D．He managed to drive the shark away. |
| A．Ambitious and humorous. | B．Clear-headed and generous. |
| C．Demanding and appealing. | D．Strong-willed and considerate. |
| A．A Race against Death |
| B．A Test of Friendship |
| C．A Wonder Made by Joined Hands |
| D．A Struggle Fought in the Darkness |
9 . Student loan (贷款) debt has become a worldwide problem. In America, the country's overall student debt reached a record of $1.6 trillion in 2019. The average person with student loan debt owed between $20,000 and $25,000. A recent Japanese government report says it has been lending over $9 billion yearly to students since 2010. Similar conditions exist in Africa and South America.
Several factors account for high student loan debt. One is that employers everywhere have increased their demands for skilled workers, making higher education a requirement for many jobs. The students, however, after graduation, often find that their country's economy is not strong enough to support their financial needs, so their ability to pay back the loan becomes a problem.
To solve the problem, many countries are seeking their ways. Australia has developed a system where students do not have to pay anything back until they are earning at least $40,000 a year. In America, several candidates running for president in the 2020 election have offered more extreme solutions that all or at least some of these loans will be forgiven.
Some professors in several universities recently studied what the effects of debt forgiveness might be. They found that, overall, sudden debt relief greatly improved the borrowers' lives. Not only did they have more money, but they were more likely to move to a new area and seek better paying work.
Yet the professors' research doesn't include what might happen to financial institutions or the overall economy if debt were totally forgiven. It only looks at how debt forgiveness would help the borrowers. They warn of some other possible negative effects. If a borrower knew that if he ran into any trouble he would be saved because he could get the debt relief, then he might actually become more reckless (轻率的) with his borrowing in the future.
No matter what, the professors agree that if countries do decide to approve some student debt relief the neediest students should be helped first.
1. How does the author introduce the problem of student loan?| A．By making a comparison. | B．By making classifications. |
| C．By presenting some statistics. | D．By setting down general rules. |
| A．It will surely provide some benefits to borrowers. |
| B．It has already been carried out in the United States. |
| C．It aims to encourage more students to borrow money. |
| D．It will prevent a person from landing a well-paying job. |
| A．Uncaring. | B．Positive. |
| C．Disapproving. | D．Cautious. |
| A．Student loan debt is the most serious problem worldwide. |
| B．Growing global student debt fuels search for solutions. |
| C．Student loan debt tends to pull the needy out of trouble. |
| D．People hold different opinions on debt forgiveness. |
10 . Sweetest Day is always the third Saturday in October. This holiday is much more important in some regions than in others (Detroit, Cleveland and Buffalo being the biggest Sweetest Day cities). It is a holiday that is gaining in popularity every year throughout the country.
Sweetest Day is celebrated on the third Saturday in October as a day to make someone happy. It is an occasion which offers all of us an opportunity to remember not only the sick, aged, and orphaned, but also friends, relatives and associates whose helpfulness and kindness we have enjoyed.
Over 60 years ago, a Cleveland man, believing that the city’s orphans and shut-ins (卧病在床的人) too often felt forgotten and neglected, formed the idea of showing them that they were remembered. He did this through the distribution(分发) of small gifts. With the help of his friends and neighbors, he distributed these small remembrances on a Saturday in October. During the years that followed, other Clevelanders began to participate in the celebration ceremony, which came to be called “Sweetest Day”. In time, the Sweetest Day idea of spreading cheer to the underprivileged(弱势群体)was broadened to include everyone, and became an occasion for remembering others with a kind act or a small remembrance. And soon the idea spread to other cities all over the country.
Sweetest Day is not based on any single group’s religious belief or on a family relationship. It is a reminder that a thoughtful word or deed enriches life and gives it meaning. Because for many people remembering takes the form of gift-giving, Sweetest Day offers us the opportunity to show others that we care, in a practical way.
1. Which of the following is TRUE according to the first paragraph?| A．More and more people are now celebrating Sweetest Day in the whole country. |
| B．Sweetest Day is a holiday which always falls on the Saturday in October. |
| C．Sweetest Day is much more important in big cities than in small cities. |
| D．Only a few religious have the tradition to celebrate the holiday. |
| A．the city’s orphans and shut-ins | B．a city named Cleveland 60 years ago |
| C．a man who cared orphans and shut-ins | D．a man’ s friends, relatives and associates |
| A．a kind act | B．a family party | C．gift-giving | D．a small remembrance |
| A．it is the people in Cleveland who spread Sweetest Day to other cities |
| B．only with the help of the man’s friends and neighbors, he got a small remembrance |
| C．over 60 years ago, a man too often felt forgotten and neglected |
| D．all people loved to be remembered by others on Sweetest Day in Cleveland |
