Lantern festivals add magic to
“The older I grow, the more
“For this lantern fair, we derived inspiration from ancient Chinese poems,” Wan says, adding that Tianshang Gongque (the moon palace), a centerpiece as well as one of 21 core lantern installations ( 装 置) at the fair,
The eight-day holiday attracted over 210,000 visitors from around China to Zigong, a city which is
I was home with my two young kids, when my mind started to wander. I was reflecting on my past and couldn’t help but think: Whatever happened to Kathy?
Kathy lived in a tiny Canadian town and she became my pen pal when I was 13. As a girl growing up in New Zealand, I was curious to learn more about the world and Kathy’s letters certainly showed me how different life could be in another country.
When I was 18, the letters had petered out (逐渐减少) and we lost contact. I’d gone on to marry my husband, Paul, and start a family, but the more I thought about it, the more I missed news of Kathy’s adventures. I decided to write to Kathy and knowing that her parents lived in such a small town, I addressed the letter to them and hoped for the best.
Three weeks later, my heart leapt when I got an envelope postmarked from Canada. “I recognized your handwriting straightaway,” Kathy wrote to me. It turned out that, like me, she’d also married but due to health problems, she was unable to have children. Her job as a nurse kept her busy and she enjoyed helping others.
Realizing how quickly life could change. I promised to keep writing to her no matter what. Her letters soon became a highlight for me, giving me the same excitement I’d felt as a 13-year-old.
One day, when Paul was using the saw (锯子) to cut some wood, a splinter (尖细条) flew into the center of my right eye and I lost my sight permanently. Paul felt terrible and while it was a huge blow (打击) for me, I tried to carry on as best I could. Soon, I needed an artificial eye (义眼, 假眼) and received financial compensation (赔偿) as a result of the accident in our yard.
One day, Paul advised “Gayel, you should use the money to do something for yourself.” “Maybe I should use it to meet Kathy,” I joked, thinking it would take a very long time and couldn’t really happen. I expected Paul to be against it, but he was all for it. “That’s exactly what you should do,” he insisted, knowing how much this friendship meant to me. I struggled so much inside that I tossed and turned at night. But I finally made up my mind to visit Kathy, a friend I knew well but hadn’t seen in years.
注意：1. 续写词数应为100左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
So I left Paul and the kids to travel 30 hours to reach Kathy.
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1.推荐的城市；
2.推荐理由；
3.你的建议。
注意：
1. 词数80左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3. 信的开头和结尾已为你写好，不计入总词数。
Dear Alex,
I’m glad to know that you’re coming to China for a visit.
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Yours ,
Li Hua
| A．In the police station. | B．In the street. | C．In a university. |
5 . If you’re an English learner or an English speaker looking to widen your vocabulary, a good dictionary app is a must.
Dictionary. comIf you’re looking for a reliable and user-friendly dictionary app, Dictionary. com has one for you. It provides instant access to a vast collection of definitions, synonyms and even works offline. Additionally, it provides daily word quizzes, articles and trending word lists to keep users engaged and expand their vocabulary.
Merriam-WebsterMerriam-Webster is a well-known and highly trusted dictionary. The app provides quality definitions, audio pronunciations and usage examples in an on-the-go format available offline. It lets you save favorites, has a word of the day and keeps track of your recent searches. The app also provides access to a thesaurus, word puzzles and quizzes to enhance your vocabulary skills. The app even lets you search for words by speaking them!
FluentUFluentU takes real-world videos-like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks-and turns them into personalized language learning lessons. FluentU makes it really easy to watch English videos. The best part is that FluentU keeps track of the vocabulary that you’re learning and gives you extra practice with difficult words. It even reminds you when its time to review! Every learner has a truly personalized experience, even if they’re learning with the same video.
Dict BoxDiet Box is a comprehensive offline dictionary and translator app for over 50 languages, all in one place. Each word comes with a detailed definition, synonyms and example sentences. With a registered account, you get access to their urban dictionary for slang words, a picture dictionary for visual learners, the ability to back up and update word lists across devices and an ad-free experience in the app.
1. Which app allows users to play a word game?| A．Dictionary.com. | B．Merriam-Webster. |
| C．FluentU. | D．Dict Box. |
| A．Presenting English videos. |
| B．Providing scheduled courses. |
| C．Tracing the learning process. |
| D．Transforming videos into lessons. |
| A．It provides word tests. |
| B．It has no advertisement. |
| C．It can be used without Internet. |
| D．It offers members extra resources. |
6 . A person named Bernard Jackson today is a free man, but he has many bitter memories. He spent five years in prison after a jury wrongly convicted him of raping two women. At Jackson’s trial, although two witnesses testified (作证) that Jackson was with them in another location at the time of the crime, he was convicted anyway. Why? The jury believed the testimony (证词) of the two victims, who positively identified Jackson as the man who had attacked them. The court eventually freed Jackson after the police found the real criminal.
Many factors influence the accuracy of eyewitness testimony. For instance, witnesses sometimes see photographs of several suspects before they try to identify the person they saw in a group of people. They can become confused by seeing many photographs of similar faces. The number of people in the group, and whether it is a person or a photograph, may also affect a witness’s decision. People sometimes have difficulty identifying people of other races. The questions the police ask witnesses also have an effect on them.
Many people believe that police officers are more reliable than ordinary people. Psychologists decided to test this idea, and they discovered that it is not true. Two psychologists showed a film of crimes to both police officers and civilians (平民). The psychologists found no difference between the police and the civilians in correctly remembering the details of the crimes.
Despite all the possibilities for inaccuracy, courts cannot omit (忽略) eyewitness testimony from a trial. American courts depend almost completely on eyewitness testimony to resolve court cases. Sometimes it is the only evidence to a crime, such as rape. Furthermore, eyewitness testimony is often correct. Although people do sometimes make mistakes, and convict innocent people, more importantly, eyewitness testimony has rightly convicted a larger number of guilty people.
American courts depend on the ability of the twelve jurors (陪审员) , and not the judges, to determine the accuracy of the witness’s testimony. It is their responsibility to decide if a certain witness could actually see, hear and remember what happened.
1. Bernard Jackson was found guilty and sentenced 5 years’ prison because ________.| A．the victims insisted that he was the attacker | B．he admitted the crime of raping two women |
| C．the police discovered evidence leading to his guilt | D．the eyewitness proved the victims’ testimony |
| A．the eyewitness is confused by the police’s questions |
| B．the eyewitness is shown photos of many similar faces |
| C．the eyewitness lacks the professional help from police |
| D．the eyewitness can’t identify people of other races clearly |
| A．the misunderstanding of the case | B．the disbelief in the court |
| C．the disrespect for the eyewitness | D．the conviction of an innocent person |
| A．it can be relied on to detect (发现) criminals in all cases |
| B．it is sometimes the only way to resolve court cases |
| C．it is sometimes the only clue for police investigation |
| D．it is more reliable than physical evidence to a crime |
7 . The old man walked slowly into the restaurant. With head tilted(倾斜), and shoulders bent forward he leaned on his trusty(可信赖的) stick with each unhurried step. His torn cloth jacket, patched(打补丁的) trousers, worn-out shoes, and warm personality made him stand out from the usual Saturday morning breakfast crowd. He stopped, turned with his whole body, and winked(眨眼) at a little girl seated by the door. She flashed a big smile right back at him.
A young waitress named Mary watched him walk toward a table by the window. She ran over to him, and said, “Here, Sir. Let me give you a hand with that chair.” She pulled the chair away from the table. Steadying him with one arm, she helped him move in front of the chair, and get comfortably seated. Then she moved the table up close to him, and leaned his stick against the table where he could reach it.
In a soft, clear voice he said, “Thank you, Miss. And bless you for your kind gestures.”
“You’re welcome, Sir.” She replied. “And my name is Mary. I’ll be back in a moment, and if you need anything at all in the meantime, just wave at me!”
After he had finished a hearty meal, Mary brought him the change. He left it on the table. She helped him and walked with him to the front door. Holding the door open for him, she said, “Come back and see us, Sir!” He turned and nodded a thank-you. “You are very kind,” he said softly, smiling
When Mary went to clean his table, she almost fainted(昏厥). Under his plate she found a business card, and a note scribbled on a napkin(餐巾纸). Under the napkin was a one-hundred-dollar bill.
The note on the napkin read, “Dear Mary, I respect you very much, and you respect yourself too. It shows by the way you treat others. You have found the secret of happiness. Your kind gestures will shine through those who meet you.”
The man she had waited on was the owner of the restaurant where she worked. This was the first time that she, or any of his employees had ever seen him in person.
1. The old man left $ 100 under the napkin because he ________.| A．was grateful for Mary’s kindness |
| B．appreciated Mary’s kindness and work attitude |
| C．wanted to encourage Mary to do more good deeds |
| D．thought highly of the tasty meal in the restaurant |
| A．The old man was an old acquaintance(认识的人) of Mary. |
| B．Mary recognized the old man when she served him. |
| C．The old man intended to have Mary as his secretary. |
| D．It was the first time that Mary had seen her boss in the flesh. |
| A．have a good meal | B．enjoy good service |
| C．have an on-site visit | D．show his generosity |
| A．providing examples | B．making comparisons |
| C．following the order of space | D．following the order of events |
8 . Just Cycle and Fold away
There’s no excuse not to get on your bike this spring. Get your indoor cycling fix and feel the benefits. Great for general cardio (有氧的)fitness, exercise bikes can be a brilliant way of training at home. However, choosing the right bike is incredibly important, which is something that Roger Black and his team recognized when creating the Roger Black Folding Bike.
“Excellent value for money. Especially the ability to fold the exercise bike into a vertical(直立的)position and wheel it away for storage. This can also prevent you from throwing your clothes on it at the end of the day! Even if we are limited on space at home and work, we can continue physical activity with a Roger Black Folding Bike. This bike is helping me achieve my fitness goals following a recent running injury.”
——Brian Smith “
Best Present EVER are the words from my 77-year-old father who received his Roger Black fitness bike for his birthday. He said it is so simple and easy to use. The seat is VERY comfortable, so using it every day is a pleasure. It folds away nearly so it can be stored behind a door when necessary.”
——Anna Farnham
Roger Black is offering a 10% discount on the full www.rogerblackfitness.com range of home fitness equipment for all Reader’s Digest readers. Please use discount code DIGEST10 at checkout.
1. What can people do with a Roger Black Folding Bike?| A．Cycle in the mountains. | B．Work out at home. |
| C．Hang their clothes. | D．Celebrate birthdays |
| A．Easy storage. | B．Reasonable price. |
| C．Comfortable seats. | D．Excellent quality. |
| A．A textbook. | B．A blog post. |
| C．A magazine. | D．An academic article. |
1. Where does the conversation probably take place?
| A．In a museum. | B．At a parking lot. | C．At a bus station. |
| A．20 minutes. | B．25 minutes. | C．30 minutes. |
| A．Taking a bus. | B．Taking a taxi. | C．Walking to the park. |
10 . An Austrian company Tec-Innovation recently showed smart shoes that use ultrasonic sensors (超声波传感器) to help people suffering from vision impairment to discover obstacles(障碍) up to four meters away.
Known as InnoMake, the smart shoe aims to replace the decades-old walking stick that millions of people around the world depend on to get around as safely as possible. The currently available model relies on sensors to detect obstacles and warns the wearer through shaking and a loud alert sounded on a bluetooth-linked smartphone. That sounds impressive enough, but the company is already working on a much more advanced version that incorporates cameras and artificial intelligence to not only detect obstacles but also their nature.
“Not only is the warning that I am facing an obstacle relevant, but also the information about what kind of obstacle I am facing. Because it makes a big difference whether it’s a wall, a car or a staircase.” Markus Raffer, one of the founders of Tec-Innovation, told TechXplore.
”Ultrasonic sensors on the toe of the shoe detect obstacles up to four meters away. The wearer is then warned by vibration and/or acoustic signals. This works very well and is already a great help to me personally.” Raffer, himself visually impaired, added.
The current version of the InnoMake shoe is already available for purchase on the Tec-Innovation website, for €3,200 per pair.
The advanced system is integrated in the front of the shoes, in a waterproof and dustproof case. It is powered by a heavy-duty battery that can last for up to one week, depending on use. The battery can be charged in just three hours, using a USB cable.
The next step for Tec-Innovation is to use the data collected by its system to create a kind of street view navigation map for visually impaired people.
“As it currently stands, only the wearer benefits in each case from the data the shoe collects as he or she walks. It would be much more sustainable if this data could also be made available to other people as a navigation aid,” computer scientist Friedrich Fraundorfer explained.
1. Who are interested in the smart shoes?| A．The deaf people. | B．The injured people. |
| C．The blind or sight-impaired. | D．The sick people. |
| A．Combined. | B．Separated. | C．Benefited. | D．Allowed. |
| A．Why the smart shoes are developed. | B．What the smart shoes can do. |
| C．How the smart shoes work. | D．How the data are collected. |
| A．A science report. | B．A fashion magazine. |
| C．An educational column. | D．A news report. |
