1 . Susan Casado felt well prepared to have a birthday party of 15 to 20 guests for her son Shemy, who celebrated his fourth birthday on Saturday. But after none of the boy’s friends arrived, she never expected she’d be hosting nearly 100 surprise guests at her home.
Susan told Yahoo Lifestyle that she was disappointed when her brother was the only person to show up at the party at first. After seeing that she had tears in her eyes, Shemy’s uncle connected with a local Facebook group to call for more people to join in the celebration. Moments later, a woman arrived at Susan’s home asking for the birthday boy, although the family had never met her before.
As people continued to arrive, the mother realized that her brother had something to do with it, and was then shown a Facebook post that he made to advertise the party.
After more unexpected guests continued to arrive, Susan began to worry about the amount of food that she had prepared. “I felt so embarrassed,” she explained. But guests didn’t care about the food and drinks. Instead, they told the birthday boy’s mother that they were there to “make Shemy’s day”, which even got better when the guests of honor arrived from St. Johas County Fire Rescue.
“My first thought was, ‘Is everybody okay? Is anybody hurt?’ And then they said, ‘We’re coming here to say happy birthday to Shemy’ ,” Susan said. “They said, ‘We brought you a big toy. We brought you a fire truck’.” Susan went on to explain that although Shemy has Down’s syndrome (唐氏综合征) and isn’t able to say much, he does express his happiness with laughter and hugs. “He hugs when he feels happy, so when people came in to meet him, we took pictures together and he hugged them. This is the way that he says thank you.”
When Susan asked her brother why he went through the extra effort to make sure that his nephew’s party was amazing, he told her, “He should have a good birthday.” As for the firefighters (消防队员) who attended, they told the family that it was all part of the job. One of the firefighters, Jeremy Robshaw, told Yahoo Lifestyle that they just wanted to “bring a smile” to Shemy’s face.
1. Why was Susan disappointed in the beginning?| A．The food was not well prepared. | B．Shemy’s friends hadn’t been invited to the party. |
| C．It was difficult to cure Shemy of his illness. | D．Only her brother turned up at the party at first. |
| A．To put out the fire. | B．To save someone. |
| C．To make Shemy happy. | D．To take Shemy to hospital. |
| A．By laughing and hugging. | B．By saying some words. |
| C．By waving his hands. | D．By nodding his head. |
| A．He was Shemy’s uncle. | B．He worked for Yahoo Lifestyle. |
| C．He attended Shemy’s birthday party. | D．He called for more people to join in the celebration. |
2 . Troia Gale, near Lisbon
Type: Sandy
Lifeguard: Yes
Cafe: Yes
It takes about an hour to get to Lisbon. It is the easiest to take a ferry (渡船) from Setubal town, but it’s also possible to drive there in just over an hour, through the resort (旅游胜地) of Comporta. Troia Gale beach is quiet and has a wonderful location, with views of the Arrabida mountains. The Atlantic is calmer in this part, and good for swimming. The Troia Residence has apartments near the ocean—from $107 in June.
Posedarje, near Zadar
Type: Rocky
Lifeguard: No
Cafe: Yes
There are more beautiful spots in Croatia, but this beach, 25 km from Zadar in the shadow of the Velebit mountains, has a family atmosphere and beautifully clear water. Book a sea-facing room at Posedarje’s only hotel, Lucija [ doubles from about $80 including bed and breakfast (B&B) ], whose simple rooms are in a wonderful position on a private, stony swimming and sunbathing area.
Playa de Carnota, Galicia
Type: Sandy
Lifeguard: No
Cafe: A Morosa
About 7 km long, this beach is considered the longest in Galicia. Far from any urban area, it has brilliant white sand and mountain views. The beach is usually quietrarely visited even by locals, and is a very impressive place to appreciate the Galician coastline. It is accessible (可进入的) bycar but lacks facilities (设备) like showers. Stayat Casa Rural San Cibran (doubles from $50B&B). A 15-minute drive north.
Play de Calblanque, Murcia
Type: Sandy
Lifeguard: 11 am - 8 pm
Cafe: Din’s Bar
Play de Calblanque is part of a natural reserve, which, in 1987, was declared a protected zone for its large numbers of animals and plants. The waters are clear and the sand is golden Most importantly, however, unlike many beaches on the Mediterranean Sea, Calblanque is never full. Be aware that it is not accessible by car in July and August. Stay in the city at the NH Cartagena (doubles from $90 only).
1. What can we learn about Posedarje from the text?| A．It is the longest beach in Croatia. | B．It is quiet and good for diving. |
| C．Tourists can’t take a shower there. | D．Its only hotel named Lucija is beside the sea. |
| A．Drive there from Casa Rural San Cibran. | B．Discover a wide variety of plants and animals. |
| C．Find the beach often crowded with tourists. | D．Rent a car and drive to the beach in August. |
| A．Tourists can have coffee in these places. | B．There are lifeguards in all of them. |
| C．Their hotels provide B&B services. | D．The four beaches are all sandy. |
3 . Province pays tribute (致敬) to a man, 24, who died trying to rescue a suicidal (自杀的) woman. Chen Jianjun, a 24-year-old firefighter from Anhui province, was granted the Anhui May 4th medal after his death—the highest honor for outstanding young people in the province on Saturday, a day after he died while trying to rescue a woman who was threatening to jump off a building.
On Friday morning, the public security bureau in Mengcheng county, Bozhou, received a call about a woman who was attempting to commit suicide.
During the rescue effort, Chen and the woman fell from the roof of a four-story shopping mall. Both of them died after emergency treatment failed, according to a statement released by Mengcheng police.
“The woman was emotional and ignored the persuasion of police and firefighters. She suddenly jumped off the building, and a firefighter moved forward to rescue her. They both fell in the process,” it said. A video clip (片段) circulated online showed a woman in black walking on the roof while Chen, dressed in an orange uniform, was trying to approach her from behind. As the woman suddenly stepped forward, he rushed to grab her, but they suddenly fell off the roof together. Chen held on to the woman as they fell.
On Sunday, an eyewitness told Jimu News—a news portal of Chutian Metropolis Daily, a newspaper based in Hubei province—that an air cushion (垫子) was laid on the ground, and firefighters kept moving it to match the movements of the woman on the roof, but she kept changing her position too quickly for them to keep up with her.
Chen was from Huainan, Anhui. A firefighter since 2014, he helped fight more than 1,300 fires and saved about 100 people, China Fire and Rescue said on its WeChat social media account.
People hailed the young firefighter as a hero and expressed their respect on social media platforms. On Saturday night, dozens of Mengcheng residents gathered at the site of the tragedy (不幸) to pay tribute to Chen, lighting candles to honor his sacrifice.
The video showed Chen was attached to a safety rope while falling, but it is not clear why it failed to hold him and the woman.
1. Why did the woman want to kill herself?| A．The report didn’t tell us. | B．The boss had just fired her. |
| C．She had some mental problems. | D．She didn’t get along well with her family. |
| A．The safety rope was broken as they fell. |
| B．Chen held on to the woman as they fell. |
| C．The woman grabbed Chen and they both fell. |
| D．The air cushion was too small to catch them. |
| A．Reviewed. | B．Understood. |
| C．Analyzed. | D．Praised. |
| A．Late Anhui firefighter given honors |
| B．Late Anhui firefighter saves about 100 people |
| C．Anhui firefighter trying to rescue suicidal woman |
| D．Anhui firefighter helps fight more than 1,300 fires |
4 . Robots that can cook are in growing demand in the United States. The increased demand comes at a time when restaurants are trying to put some distance between their workers and customers during the COVID-19.
In a few weeks, White Castle restaurants will test a robot arm that can cook French fries and other foods. The robot, called Flippy, is a product of Miso Robotics, a company based in Pasadena, California.
Robot food service was becoming popular even before the coronavirus pandemic (冠状病毒). Hospitals, college dining areas and other places tried to meet demand for food while keeping labor costs low. Robot chefs appeared at places like Creator, a restaurant in San Francisco. Now, some say, robots may become necessary for the food service industry. “I expect in the next two years you will see much more robotic adoption (采用) in the food field because of COVID-19,” Jain said.
Some people say, robots can lower the demand for labor. At the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, cafe workers used to spend six hours per day making salads, notes Tonya Johnson, the school’s director of nutrition services. But two years ago, the university added a Sally, a kind of robot that now makes around 40 salads per day. By adding Sally, the school was able to cut (消减) a job opening in its cooking staff. Johnson said, “I think the pandemic has made us realize how much we need more equipment like Sally.”
Miso Robotics’s co-founder and chief Buck Jordan said fast food restaurants are already having trouble finding workers, partly as a result of a losing population of young workers. Jordan added that his company’s position is that “automation (自动化) is not a choice”. He added, “You must automate in order to survive in the future.”
1. What do we know about Flippy?| A．It is the brand of a company. | B．It can be used to cook foods. |
| C．It is the name of a restaurant. | D．It can bring foods to customers. |
| A．The development of robots. | B．The demand for food supplies. |
| C．The serious shortage of labour force. | D．The increasing need for robot food service. |
| A．He appreciates its functions. | B．He disapproves of its functions. |
| C．He has some doubt about it. | D．He is not completely satisfied with it. |
| A．Automation is a hard choice for food restaurants. |
| B．Food services are becoming more and more worse. |
| C．The number of young workers is becoming smaller. |
| D．Food restaurants are less willing to employ workers. |
