1 . Rain beat against the window, matching my mood. I should have known that my new job at the hospital was too good to be true. Throughout the day, rumors (传言) warned that the newest employee from each department would be laid off. I was the newest one in the training department.
My boss appeared. “You probably know we’re cutting back,” he said. “Administration wants us to offer outplacement classes to help those employees find other jobs, showing them how to act in an interview, for example.” “Fine,” I answered unwillingly, not knowing what else to say.
I decided to go home early that day. In the hall, I met the lady who brought us cookies every Friday. She was a little woman with gray hair. Only her head and the top of her green apron (围裙) were visible over the cart (小车) loaded with cleaning supplies. At least she had a job!
At the final meeting, laid-off workers formed a line at the door. A colleague whispered, “I can’t believe our Cookie Lady is being laid off. We’ll miss her as much as we’ll miss her cookies.” When the colleague spoke to her in Spanish, I knew my classes would be useless for her and I realized how much better off I was than this poor woman.
I decided to do something for her. I wrote to a newspaper expressing how I felt about the unselfishness of the Cookie Lady who needed a job. A few days later, my article appeared in the newspaper and the Cookie Lady was allowed to stay in her position. On the same day, I received a letter, which seemed so unlikely that I read it twice. “An editor of a local magazine likes your piece and wants you to call her next time you’re looking for work…”
1. How did the author feel on that rainy day?| A．Nervous. | B．Excited. | C．Embarrassed. | D．Proud. |
| A．Take care of patients. | B．Leave earlier that day. |
| C．Help the laid-off workers. | D．Give up the job in the hospital. |
| A．He offered her a high-paid job. | B．He gave her advice on job hunting. |
| C．He made her story known to others. | D．He taught her how to pass an interview. |
| A．Good deeds have their rewards. |
| B．A friend in need is a friend indeed. |
| C．Little people can make a big difference. |
| D．Love brings more joy to people than work does. |
2 . Mention the terms Italian culture and Renaissance art and one is immediately reminded of the mysterious smile of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.
The Renaissance had a deep effect on the development of European culture. Having its beginnings in Italy, by the 16th century, it had spread to the rest of Europe. Its influence was felt in different fields such as philosophy, literature, religion, science, politics, and, of course, art. The scholars of the Renaissance period applied the humanistic method to every field of study, and wanted to have human emotion and realism in art.
Renaissance scholars studied the ancient Latin and Greek texts, searching the libraries of Europe for works of ancient times that had become obscure, in their hunt for reforming and perfecting their worldly knowledge. However, that does not mean that they refused religion. In fact, many of the greatest works of the Renaissance period were devoted to it, with the church supporting a lot of the works of Renaissance art. However, there were slight changes in the manner in which the scholars began to treat religion, which affected the cultural life of society, which in turn influenced the artists of that period and therefore was reflected in their art.
In Raphael’s The School of Athens, for example, some well-known people were described as classical scholars with Leonardo da Vinci given as much importance as Plato in his time. Giotto di Bondone, 1266-1337, a Florentine, who is regarded as the greatest Italian painter just earlier than the Renaissance period, is thought to be the first artist who treated a painting as a window into space.
However, it was only after the writings of Filippo Brunelleschi, 1377-1446, who is considered the first great builder of the Italian Renaissance, that perspective (透视法) was formally accepted as an artistic technique.
1. What makes Italy stand out in a way in world history?| A．Its artists during the Renaissance were numerous. | B．It was the center of the European countries. |
| C．It had many famous inventors in different fields. | D．It was home to the Renaissance. |
| A．meaningless and hard to recognize | B．clear and meaningful to guiding people |
| C．unclear and difficult to understand or see | D．easy to understand but having little meaning |
| A．After the completion of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. |
| B．After Leonardo da Vinci’s being compared to Plato. |
| C．After Giotto di Bondone’s paintings were respected. |
| D．After Filippo Brunelleschi’s completing his writings. |
| A．Italy’s Renaissance art and artists | B．the famous artists in Italy’s history |
| C．Italy’s influence on the world in culture | D．the hardships during the Renaissance in Italy |
3 . Kids should learn when they should call 911 because sometimes accidents happen.I will never forget the day when I first called 911.
One day I was sitting on a rock watching my mom train a horse.Suddenly, the horse kicked (踢) and she fell off the horse.She landed on the ground, rolled over, got up on her knees, and held her face in her hands.The horse ran off.
I was in a bit of shock. I shouted to my mom and asked if she was all right. She didn’t answer. Instead, she ran into the house. I was scared, but I knew my mom would want me to make sure the horse was safe. I found the horse and led him back to the barn (畜棚).
After I put him in the barn, I ran into the house.My mom did not look OK.I called 911 and told the operator what had happened.Soon an ambulance came.It drove us a short distance to where a plane was waiting to take my mom to the hospital.In the ambulance, I called my mom’s friend, who came and took me to the hospital, too.
On the way to the hospital, I was scared and started to cry.Would my mom be OK? Luckily, after five days in the hospital, she got well and came home.She said I was a brave girl.I was so happy to have her back.She was riding and training horses again after about six weeks.
1. The second paragraph mainly tells us_______.| A．how the accident happened |
| B．how the writer's mother trained horses |
| C．how the writer felt when the accident happened |
| D．what the writer was doing when the accident happened |
| A．She called 911. | B．She stood there quietly. |
| C．She went to find the horse. | D．She followed her into the house. |
| A．never trained horses again | B．stayed in hospital for five days |
| C．sold the horse that made her fall | D．didn’t allow the writer to ride horses |
4 . Water Skiing
Water skiing is an exciting water sport that can be a ton of fun. It takes a little patience to learn, but once you do, water skiing is a sport you can enjoy whenever you have a boat and enough flat water.
For your first time water skiing, you may want to either take a lesson from an expert or find a friend that has experience to teach you.
The person skiing starts by crouching(蹲伏)in the water, this is called a deep water start. The skis will float ,but you want your body to be in a crouching position in the water. Your skis tips should be pointing out of the water.
| A．You need a boat. naturally, |
| B．Most people just enjoy regular water skiing. |
| C．The idea is to ski on the surface of the water. |
| D．Having a successful start will most likely take a few tries. |
| E．Your arms will be overstretched holding onto the cable tightly. |
| F．Before you start water skiing, there are a few supplies you'll need. |
| G．Of your two helpers, you need one to drive the boat and one to observe. |
5 . Four Inspiring Movies
Forrest Gump（1992）
Forrest Gump is a simple man with a low IQ but good intentions. This movie follows the fictional story in which the simple man makes his way through some of the more turbulent（动荡的）times from the 1960s through 1980s. This film took home six Oscars, inspired a “Weird Al” song, and proves that a big heart is the most important thing.
It's a Wonderful Life（1946）
No movie list would be complete without a nod to the past. Let's go with this Christmas classic, about a man with serious financial troubles who intends to commit suicide（自杀）by jumping off a bridge. His guardian angel Clarence Odbody stops him and tells him what life would have been like for those close to him had he never been born. Realizing how much he means to others, he rushes back home and all sorts of happy, inspirational, Christmassy things happen.
Dead Poet's Society（1990）
John Keating（Robin Williams）is a high school English literature teacher at a famous all-male boarding school who gets into trouble with the school administration after encouraging his students to challenge authority and think for themselves. It is certainly inspirational, if not also frustratingly sad.
A Beautiful Mind（2001）
This movie tells the story of John Nash（Russell Crowe）, a professor at Princeton, a US university, who revolutionized the field of game theory and fell into madness as a result of paranoid schizophrenia（精神分裂症）. With the love and support of his family as well as the help of medical professionals, he managed to overcome his mental illness and continued to make contributions to the field of mathematics.
1. What can we know about It's a Wonderful Life?| A．It proves a big heart important. |
| B．It has a happy ending. |
| C．It tells a story of friendship. |
| D．It is famous for the leading role. |
| A．Forrest Gump. | B．I's a Wonderful Life. |
| C．Dead Poet's Society. | D．A Beautiful Mind. |
| A．became a famous expert in psychology |
| B．got his family's support for studying game theory |
| C．gained lots of experience in treating schizophrenia |
| D．defeated the disease and went on to pursue maths |
6 . Various events are to be held in February in Ridge Field Library. Check your schedule and choose the one you prefer.
Teen Slam Poetry Group
February 8th, 2020
Do you love writing and performing poetry? Join the Teen Slam Poetry Group. We meet each week to share fresh new works. All teenagers aged 13-19 are welcome. Retired English teacher and poet Barb Jennes leads the group.
Mom Life Writing Workshop
February 13th, 2020
Are you wondering if there is more to life than cleaning up after the baby falling asleep? Look no further than the Mom Life Writing Workshop, a 6-week exploration for moms who are looking for telling their stories and regaining their power in an open, safe community through limitless potential of the written words.
Brenda Kahn is the author of Ode to Chores: the Good. the Bad, and the Laundry(洗衣). Her aim is to “add a unique and powerful voice to the conversation about motherhood.”
Lunch and Language: French
February 9th, I 6th, 22nd, 2020
Have you learned a little French in high school and would you like to review it or are you planning to visit France or other French-speaking countries? Then why not join Anette Roth at one of our new Lunch and Language workshops? Through simple texts, poems, songs and videos, you'll learn more about the language and culture, improve your basic language skills and meet new friends.
The workshops are aimed at those with an elementary(初级的) knowledge of the language, but people who have a more advanced ability are welcome to join in the fun.
Reading is a Family Affair
February 23rd, 2020
Join other families with children in grades 3-5 for a special Reading is a Family Affair. Suzanne Nelson will share her most recent book-a Tale Magnolious.
Families with children in grades 3-5 can apply for a free copy of the book to read in advance, and make preparations for a book discussion on that day.
1. The purpose of the Mom Life Writing Workshop is to________.| A．realize moms’ personal value. | B．help moms take care of babies. |
| C．improve moms’ housekeeping skills. | D．help moms become professional writers. |
| A．Barb Jennes. | B．Brenda Kahn |
| C．Anette Roth | D．Suzanne Nelson. |
| A．Teen Slam Poetry Group. | B．Reading is a Family Affair. |
| C．Mom Life Writing Workshop. | D．Lunch and Language: French. |
7 . Barbican Art Gallery
A world-class arts and learning center, the Barbican pushes the boundaries of all major art forms including dance, film, music, theater and many visual arts from Egypt.
Tickets:
Adult: £10 online/£12 at the door
13-17 years old: £6 online/£8 at the door
Children aged 12 and under: Free
Opening Times:
Sat.—Wed.: 10 a.m.—6 p.m.; Thu.一Fri.: 10 a.m.一9 p.m.
Review by Laura Miller: I have just watched To Kill a Mockingbird here. The play and actors were fantastic. Nice and clean ladies' toilets with hot water. During the interval, they were selling the usual ice cream and drinks. Not all staff were friendly, but most were. I would come again to watch another show or even the same one.
The British Museum
A museum of the world, for the world. Discover over two million years of human history and culture. Some of the world-famous objects include the Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon sculptures and Egyptian mummies.
Admission and opening times:
Free, open daily 10 a.m.—17:30 p.m.
The Museum is closed on Jan. 1, Good Friday (April 10, 2020) and Dec. 24, 25 & 26, but open every other day of the year.
Review by Robert James: I arrived at the main entrance line at 10:45 a.m., waited patiently as it rolled forward for a few minutes. Now 11:30 a.m. with two thirds of the line to go, another 30 minutes to wait and with knowledge that I had to go downtown shopping by 1 p.m., I turned on my heels and left.
1. How much will a couple with kids of 11 and 14 pay for online tickets of the Art Gallery?| A．£20. | B．£26. |
| C．£32. | D．£36. |
| A．Dance. | B．Film. |
| C．Music. | D．Theater. |
| A．Both offer free admission. | B．Egyptian exhibits are on display. |
| C．They're open all year round. | D．They're located downtown. |
8 . How affordable is high culture? One great myth of our time is that tickets for opera, theatre, ballet and orchestral (管弦乐) concerts are too expensive, especially for the young. This is infuriating as, in Britain, at least, the claim is ridiculous and offensive. The cheap tickets to hear London's orchestras range from ￡7 to ￡9 — same as a cinema ticket, and lower than the entry price to many pop music and comedy clubs. For comparison, when the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra performs with top soloists and conductors the cheapest seat is ￡30; and at the Berlin Philharmonic, it's an expensive ￡46.
Finding cheap tickets to the opera and ballet isn't so easy. True. British companies don't charge the ridiculous high prices found on the Continent (￡2,000 for a good seat at a premiere of La Scala's Carmen last December), but the tickets are still pretty steep. Large fees paid to star performers mostly account for that. Luckily, however, one spectacular technological innovation has transformed the scene. It's live (or slightly delayed) cinema transmissions. The New York Metropolitan Opera now beams its shows to 800 cinemas round the world, and British companies aren't far behind. Cinematic opera is excellent value. For the cost of a good bottle of wine (￡10 or ￡15 for the Royal Opera House's shows) you can sit in your local movie-house and see a high-definition relay of what's occurring on the world's grandest stages. No, it's not the same as being there, but it's almost as good. The sound is incredible. The images, particularly of dancers, are fantastic. And you can react to the show as part of a live audience, rather than sitting on your own at home.
To me, this mountain of evidence, together with free museum admissions, indicates that the arts world should stop worrying that its audiences are still mostly middle-class. Anyone who can afford to visit a pub can also afford to see top-quality drama, music and dance. The real battle now should be ensuring that school children are given enough tastes of high culture to make them want to buy all those cheap tickets when they grow up.
1. What does the underlined word "infuriating" in paragraph 1 mean?| A．Quite interesting. | B．Very annoying. | C．Not certain. | D．Extremely obvious. |
| A．The amount of money charged by top performers. |
| B．The costly technology required for broadcast. |
| C．The demand of companies for big profits. |
| D．The high cost of renting the stages. |
| A．People can decide where to watch the opera. |
| B．Audiences are discouraged from responding to The performances. |
| C．It provides an inexpensive way of enjoying a live opera performance. |
| D．The sound and visual quality are superior to the live performance. |
| A．The quality of opera performances is improving. |
| B．High culture is becoming more affordable in Europe. |
| C．The cost of access to high culture activities should be lowered. |
| D．Children should be encouraged to participate in high culture events. |
9 . Mars(火星) appears to be flowing with small streams of salty water, at least in the summer, scientists reported Monday. “It suggests that it would be possible for there to be life today on Mars,” NASA’s science mission chief, John Grunsfeld, said at a news conference on September 28, 2015.
The streams are about 12 to 15 feet wide and 300 feet or more long, scientists said. “What we’re dealing with is wet soil, thin layers of wet soil, not standing water,” said Aifred McEwen of the University of Arizona at Tueson, the principal scientist for the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s high-resolution imaging experiment.
Because liquid water is essential to life, the findings could have major implications for the possibility of Martian life. The researchers said further exploration is needed to determine whether microscopic life exists on the planet.
The presence of liquid water could also make life easier for astronauts visiting or living on Mars. Water could be used for drinking and for creating oxygen and rocket fuel. NASA’s goal is to send humans there in the 2030s.
The evidence of flowing water consists largely of dark, narrow streaks(条痕) on the surface that tend to appear and grow during the warmest Martian months and fade the rest of the year.
Mars is extremely cold even in summer, and the streaks are in places where the temperature is as low as minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit. But salt can lower the freezing point of water and melt ice.
The source of the water is a mystery. Scientists noted it could be melting ice. It could be an underground aquifer, which is rock or sand that can hold water. It is possibly water vapor from the thin Martian atmosphere. Or it may be a combination Michael Meyer, lead scientist for NASA’s Mars exploration program, said the only definitive way for now to determine whether there’s life on Mars is to collect rocks and soil for analysis on Earth—something a U. S. lander set for lift-off in 2020 will do.
1. According to John Grunsfeld, there seems to be on Mars.| A．salty water | B．standing water |
| C．rocket fuel | D．human beings |
| A．state | B．source |
| C．temperature | D．taste |
| A．The distance from the sun | B．The favorable climate |
| C．The gravity of the earth | D．The salt in it |
| A．Streams of Water Spotted on Mars |
| B．Astronauts will Land on Mars |
| C．NASA’s Mars Exploration Program |
| D．A Breakthrough in the Exploration of Mars |
10 . While smartphones stand accused of a variety of crimes, these pocket computers can certainly be a force for good. Your phone is always with you, making it the perfect device to push you into a more beneficial way of living. Here are some of the best apps that can help.
Habitica
Habitica turns the goal of forming good habits into a game, with its own characters and scoring. It’s a lot of fun，and the app also lets you build habits with friends and family. In addition to regular repeating habits, you can add a more general to-do list, and the rewards you get can be customized too — you could treat yourself to a meal out or an extra hour of games.
Smoke Free
If you’ve got a specific habit in mind，then you’ll usually find specific apps to help, like Smoke Free. If you’re determined to give up smoking, then this is one of the most comprehensive apps for giving you that extra push you need to make a permanent change. The app offers a host of useful features for people wanting to go smoke-free ： The ability to see your progress over time，charts showing how your health is improving，day-by-day encouragement， and some advice on techniques for giving up smoking.
MyFitnessPal
You can find a ton of health and fitness apps for your phone, but MyFitnessPal stands out not just because it is easy to use, but because it makes practical suggestions for you. It can take in a host of data, from the calories (卡路里)you’re taking in to the number of swims you’re doing per week, and offer reports on calorie consumption and macronutrient (大量营养素） breakdown.
1. What can Habitica help you to do?| A．Win a tough game. | B．Start a lasting friendship. |
| C．Find a fancy restaurant. | D．Develop a pleasant habit. |
| A．The freedom to smoke. | B．The ability to make progress. |
| C．Advice on how to quit smoking. | D．Charts about your excellent health. |
| A．They’re cheap. | B．They’re practical. |
| C．They’re free. | D．They’re interesting. |
