Normally, my two-year old cat, Tiger, hates it when I use my tablet (平板电脑) because it takes my attention away from him. July last year, I had
Thanks to Tiger, I was able to contact a friend of
2 . The Taj Mahal(泰姬陵)is a love story, a sad and beautiful one. If it didn’t exist, we would easily imagine that the story of its construction was simply a fairy tale. Three hundred years ago, there lived an Indian emperor called Shah Jahan. His wife was a beautiful and bright woman whom he loved greatly. Her title was Mumtazl
Mahal: its shortened form Taj Mahal, means “pride of the palace”. In the year 1630 this beloved wife of the emperor died. He was so brokenhearted that he thought of giving up his throne(王位). He decided out of his love for his wife, to build her the most beautiful tomb that he had ever seen.
He summoned the best artists and architects from India, Turkey, Persia and Arabia and finally, the design was completed. It took more than twenty thousand men working over a period of 18 years to build the Taj Mahal, one of the most beautiful buildings in the world.
The building itself stands on a marble platform 29 meters square and 6—7 meters high. Towers rise from each of the four comers. The Taj Mahal itself soars another 61 meters into the air. It is an eight-sided building made of white marble.
The emperor planned to build an identical(相同的)tomb of black marble for himself on the other side of the river connected by a silver bridge. However, his son put him into a prison in the palace before he could finish, and for the rest of his life, he could only gaze across river at the tomb of his beloved wife.
1. Why was the Taj Mahal built according to the passage? Because________.| A．Shah Jahan was heartbroken after the death of his wife |
| B．Shah Jahan loved his wife greatly |
| C．his wife was a beautiful and bright woman |
| D．his wife was the “pride of the palace” |
| A．the Taj Mahal was completed quickly owing to the efforts of the best artists and workers |
| B．a lot of people took part in the building of the Taj Mahal |
| C．the Taj Mahal and Shah Jahan’s own tomb were built at the same time |
| D．the Taj Mahal is the most beautiful tomb in the world |
| A．four-sided | B．eight-cornered | C．black-colored | D．white-colored |
| A．he died soon after his wife’s death | B．he was killed by his son |
| C．he gave up his throne | D．he was put into prison by his son |
| A．the story of the Taj Mahal |
| B．a beautiful fairy tale |
| C．white and black marble tombs made for two emperors |
| D．the love story of Emperor Shah Jahan and his wife |
3 . I was born near New Your City. My parents loved music. They weren’t rich but there was always
By the time I was 12, I
By the time I was 15, I left school and started
I don’t know why but I became a
| A．music | B．paper | C．food |
| A．discussed | B．mailed | C．knew |
| A．jump | B．stand | C．run |
| A．playing | B．buying | C．selling |
| A．ran away | B．came in | C．set off |
| A．embarrassed | B．hungry | C．tired |
| A．behind | B．with | C．for |
| A．map | B．gift | C．book |
| A．slowly | B．angrily | C．sadly |
| A．mouth | B．head | C．face |
| A．sleeping | B．working | C．climbing |
| A．got | B．missed | C．refused |
| A．Besides | B．Instead | C．However |
| A．her | B．your | C．my |
| A．liked | B．lost | C．forgot |
| A．cards | B．songs | C．games |
| A．borrow | B．record | C．return |
| A．Personally | B．Generally | C．Luckily |
| A．popular | B．easy | C．boring |
| A．doctor | B．star | C．worker |
4 . Nisha Blackwell was putting herself through nursing school when she was laid off for the third time. To make matters worse, she couldn’t
Nisha had cloth and a sewing machine, but she didn’t
She
Nisha left the party with six customers and started getting
“If you light a lamp for somebody, it will also brighten your path. I make sure that I am looking back and helping, and make sure that I’m not just doing something that is only
| A．receive | B．wrap | C．design | D．afford |
| A．how | B．when | C．why | D．what |
| A．actually | B．merely | C．necessarily | D．desperately |
| A．charge | B．handle | C．tailor | D．apply |
| A．since | B．by | C．until | D．after |
| A．confident | B．determined . | C．courageous | D．committed |
| A．ended up | B．took to | C．dug up | D．turned to |
| A．deciding | B．identifying | C．assessing | D．wondering |
| A．curious | B．sensitive | C．nervous | D．confused |
| A．unhappy | B．unexpected | C．unusual | D．uncertain |
| A．handed | B．laid | C．picked . | D．emptied |
| A．primitive | B．amazing | C．complicated | D．inspiring |
| A．supplies | B．funds | C．materials | D．orders |
| A．community | B．factory | C．country | D．charity |
| A．convincing | B．impressing | C．benefiting | D．challenging |
Last winter, Linda went through a very messy divorce and was very depressed. So she quit her job and left Los Angeles, where she encountered her ex-husband in college. She flew to Boston on the east coast of the US. Later, she settled in a new neighborhood in East Boston. However, shortly afterwards, the company where she worked went bankrupt (破产). Suffering a series of bitter blows, she fell ill, a severe case of flu. She had to stay at home for the whole week, feeling extremely bad and hopeless.
Early one morning, Linda lay in bed, feeling painful all over. Then all of a sudden, there was an upsetting knock on her front door. Struggling out of the bed, she dragged herself to the window. There, outside, she saw a young lady carefully holding some leaflets(传单)and a TV set model. She knew of a large TV set establishment nearby and assumed a message was about to be gently delivered. “This is the last thing I need today.” She muttered to herself and hesitantly opened the door.
Coughing bitterly, Linda stuck her head out. “Excuse me, madam…” the young lady said with a smile. “I’m sorry but I am not the slightest bit interested in any TV whatever.” Linda interrupted her impatiently. “As a matter of fact, I am feeling terribly awful.” “Is there anything I can do for you, madam?” the young lady asked with concern. “No thanks, just leave me alone.” Linda then shut the door in her face. The young lady politely turned and left in silence.
注意：1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右;
2. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好。
Paragraph 1:
A few hours later, another knock.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2:
Linda was surprised by this loving action.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________6 . The Spotlight Effect
Have you ever felt as if the entire world was watching while you made a mistake? Well, here’s some good news: it’s likely that no one even noticed.
The spotlight effect exists because we all get used to seeing things through our own eyes. Every person is the main character in his or her story, and the events of our lives seem to have great importance.
The spotlight effect is a very common part of the human experience. However, in some cases, it can lead to extreme social anxiety and nervousness around other people. Everyone suffers some degree of social anxiety. We all care about what others think, and we all want to be liked. It’s normal to wonder about what effect we have on other people.
Learning about the spotlight effect is important because it can help us reduce our anxiety. Next time you feel like everyone is staring at you, remind yourself that it’s just your mind playing tricks on you.
| A．However, this can be a problem when the anxiety is too much to handle. |
| B．That’s why fewer people notice the embarrassing circumstances they encounter. |
| C．Another good exercise is to make an effort to notice the people around you, rather than focusing on yourself. |
| D．The spotlight effect is a trick of the mind that makes us believe that people notice us more often than they really do. |
| E．What you can do at this moment is to ignore them. |
| F．We are so busy examining ourselves that we actually observe very little about everyone around us. |
| G．It can also appear when we score a big goal, ask someone on a date, or do a good deed. |
7 . George Daniels lives in London. He is a watchmaker. His work continues the tradition of the English watchmakers of the 18th and 19th centuries. Today this tradition is almost dead. Daniels is the only man in the world who designs his own watches makes all the pars himself and then puts them together.
A Daniels watch is the product of his hands alone. One of his watches which is now in an American museum took 3500 hours to complete. He usually makes one watch a year. Each one is inscribed (刻) with “Daniels London” and costs about $10,000. Of course these are not ordinary watches—they are very beautiful and will last three centuries.
George Daniels has always been attracted by clocks and watches. When he was five he used to take his father’s clock apart and put it back together again. At school he used to repair his teachers watches.
He is now internationally famous and many people would like him to make watches for them. But most of them will be disappointed. He chooses his customers very carefully indeed. It must be someone who understands the subject,” he says “not someone who will leave the watch in the drawer and only show it to dinner quests.”
1. Who is George Daniels?| A．One of the few who repaired watches in the old days. |
| B．The only man who collects old watches in the world. |
| C．One of the few remaining watch designers in the world. |
| D．The only man who designs and makes watches by himself. |
| A．10,000 hours. | B．300 years. |
| C．200 years. | D．3,500 hours. |
| A．He played with his father’s clock. |
| B．He taught people how to repair watches. |
| C．He made a watch for an American museum. |
| D．He made beautiful and long-lasting watches. |
| A．can afford his watches | B．may want to show them to others |
| C．appreciate his watches | D．enjoy his watch-making process |
| A．Only a few people like them. |
| B．They are kept in a museum. |
| C．Only a few people can get them. |
| D．They have a history of over 200 years. |
8 . What would life be like without commas (逗号)? It would be quite confusing. Take this simple sentence as an example: Let’s eat Dad! Without a comma, Dad becomes the food. Add comma, and Dad becomes a partner at dinner: Let’s eat, Dad! The comma enables people to have a better understanding of the sentence.
Here’s another example: Tom said Sarah stole the cake. Here, Sarah is the thief. But add a pair of commas, and Tom becomes the thief: Tom, said Sarah, stole the cake.
The examples above clearly show that people cannot do without commas in writing. Yet, the comma came from oral speeches. Long ago, most people could not read. They listened to the news or stories told by the people who gave speeches. The comma began as something to mark the resting place in a sentence. When reading, the speakers knew where to stop and take a breath.
In writing, commas are like shining red lights on the road. They require that you wait a moment before continuing. And don’t add a comma when you feel like it. There are rules that people shall not break. Learn them, and you won’t be eating anyone or making wrong changes.
1. Without commas, life would be________.| A．frightening | B．puzzling | C．relaxing | D．interesting |
| A．tell jokes to readers | B．show the importance of using commas |
| C．tell stories to readers | D．show the difficulty of using commas |
| A．indicate a long sentence | B．rewrite an unclear sentence |
| C．continue a sentence | D．mark a break in a sentence |
| A．our feelings | B．our speeches |
| C．certain rules | D．some facts |
| A．Commas Make Sentences Clear. |
| B．Commas Make English Interesting. |
| C．Commas Make Writing Easy. |
| D．Commas Make Speeches Surprising. |
Mr Bolton had a big house with a beautiful lawn and a garden. His neighbor often came to visit his garden and Mr Bolton enjoyed
Because of this, Mr Bolton was very proud of his lawn and garden and he spend all his time and energy taking care of them. But there was still one thing
Mr Bolton thought the project was a great
A self-service flower shop operated by a college student in Beijing is attracting many young customers, Chinese media reported.
Different from traditional shops in the capital, the young storekeeper surnamed Wang opened the first self-service flower shop where people can select flowers and pay via mobile payment systems including Wechat and Alipay.
Born after 2000 and a lover of literature, the young man said “he begins the startup (创业) because it will not take up his time”. “Besides, people can go to flower shops at any time,” he added. “I cannot focus on reading when I have to serve customers.” So Wang opened the self-service flower shop after doing market research.
Most young customers like shopping in a free environment, and hate promotion (推销) from clerks, he explained, adding that customers can have their questions answered about the names of flowers through mobile apps.
Even though there is no shopkeeper, the operation has attracted many young customers and proved to be a success, at least for now.
Although he does not sell flowers in the shop in person, Wang said he would go to the shop at odd intervals to take care of the flowers though he couldn’t afford it full time.
“It is a business with a little money, and it can’t cause a huge loss if a burglary (偷盗) happens,” he said, adding that he trusts people.
1. How do people pay for flowers? (no more than 8 words)2. Why does Wang open the self-service flower shop? (no more than 20 words)
3. How can customers have their questions answered about flowers? (no more than 10 words)
4. What does the underlined phrase “at odd intervals” most probably mean? (no more than 4 words)
5. What do you think of the self-service flower shop? Tell your reasons. (no more than 25 words)
