Perhaps he was a defender,
Protecting France.
Perhaps he was an aggressor(侵略者),
Occupying others.
Perhaps he was a revolutionary,
Propagating democratic idea(民主思想).
Perhaps he was a traitor(背叛者),
Becoming an empire builder.
Perhaps he was a god of war,
frustrating London.
Perhaps he was a loser,
Defeated by wellington.
Perhaps he is a man of dubious merit(功过难辨),
But remember his word,
“Able was I ere I saw Elba.”
By Li Jiahang
1. Who does “he” refer to in the poetry?2. What’s the type of this poem? What are the characteristics of this type of poetry?
3. What words can best describe “him?”
Puffin Books, the publisher of UK writer Roald Dahl’s classic children’s books like Matila and The Witches, came under fire in February due to their choice to edit out hundreds of offensive or outdated words such as “fat” and “ugly” in the late author’s stories.
Although the publisher defended the changes, saying that they were meant to allow DahI’s books to continue to be enjoyed by all today, many were still angered by the move. Notable figures like writer Salman Rushdie called the changes “absurd censorship (荒谬的审查)” while UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that “it’s important that works of literature and works of fiction are preserved”, noted Sky News.
DahI’s books and other children’s literature have a unique problem compared to literature for adults when it comes to preservation vs adaptation. Children can be vulnerable to influences which can shape the way they grow up and understand the world. According to The Conversation, “children’s literature implicitly(潜移默化地) shapes the minds of child readers by presenting particular social and culture values as normal and natural .[AKA] ‘socialization’.”
Personally, I believe in the intelligence of children to navigate and explore the world around them. It is the job of teachers, parents and other adult guardians to help children understand that books are products of their times and that authors – even the best among them – are ultimately human beings with their own flaws(缺点).
After all, just as Suzanne Nossel, CEO of PEN America, a nonprofit organization that protects writers and freedom of expression, wrote on her Twitter, “If we start down the path of trying to correct for perceived slights(自以为的鄙视) instead of allowing readers to receive and react to books as written, we risk distorting the work of great authors and clouding the essential lens that literature offers on society.”
With this kind of understanding in mind, we can empower children with the tools for critical thinking and improve their ability to judge and sort out the contexts of what they learn and are exposed to. This is a skill needed now more than ever in an era of “fake news” and the rapid spread of fakes.
1. Why did Puffin Books decide to edit Roald Dahl’s books?2. What is the unique problem with children’s literature, according to the text?
3. What does the underlined word “distorting” most probably mean?
4. What does the author believe is important when raising children?
This “dazzling” animation, Suzume (铃芽之旅), from Japanese director Makoto Shinkai has already become
4 . Nong Jiagui has taught at this elementary school for 37 years.
He was the only teacher here until 2020 when another one
Over the decades, Nong has
The county is part of Wenshan Prefecture (州) on the border with Vietnam. It’s home to a large number of ethnic Zhuang people. Following the poverty alleviation (缓和) drive, the place has experienced
Nong says he needs to learn more to perform his duty
| A．convinced | B．joined | C．evaluated | D．consulted |
| A．special | B．vast | C．dynamic | D．influential |
| A．monitor | B．bother | C．comfort | D．house |
| A．shocked | B．annoyed | C．scared | D．confused |
| A．freedom | B．knowledge | C．power | D．competence |
| A．chose | B．hoped | C．prayed | D．intended |
| A．provided | B．shifted | C．established | D．restored |
| A．forbidden | B．hidden | C．broken | D．forgotten |
| A．selected | B．elected | C．adopted | D．assigned |
| A．responsibility | B．reputation | C．expectation | D．ability |
| A．add | B．announce | C．voice | D．explain |
| A．slow | B．fast | C．mild | D．sustainable |
| A．economy | B．politics | C．medicine | D．education |
| A．bring forward | B．bring up | C．bring about | D．bring back |
| A．violently | B．extensively | C．faithfully | D．incredibly |
5 . In his latest Twitter shake-up, Elon Musk has decided to temporarily control how many tweets users can read each day.
On Saturday, Musk announced the daily limit, with some accounts restricted to 300 posts. Musk said verified users would be able to read 6,000 posts per day, while unverified and newly created unverified accounts would only be able to read either 600 or 300 posts per day.
The decision sparked backlash (集体反对) and within hours the billionaire said he had extended the limits to 10,000 for verified (已认证的) users, 1,000 for unverified users, and 500 for newly unverified users.
On Friday, Musk also changed Twitter’s rules to stop unregistered users from viewing tweets without signing up. He said the move was part of ”drastic and immediate“ action to restrict access to tweets because AI companies were stealing Twitter’s data.
Despite Musk insisting the restrictions are temporary, some users have been confused and irritated by the sudden change of rules.“How on earth did I already use up all my rate limits,” Rawsalerts, a media account, tweeted, along with a screenshot of the account’s limited timeline. “Now I can’t even see my own tweets what is happening.” YouTube star Mr. Beast also chimed in on the drama: “I hit my tweet viewing limit for the day. Wtf do I do with my life now.” Matt Navarra, a social-media expert, “It is time I just quit Twitter at this point,” posted in response to another user complaining they couldn’t access his content.
Others took to joking about the new restrictions. One user poked fun at the risk the policy might reduce views: “Babe no your tweet’s a banger! Everyone just exceeded (超过) their rate limit before they saw it! Babe trust me!”
Another joked about their attempts to slow down their scrolling, posting a meme with the text: ”Me trying to not scroll fast and waste my 600 tweet limit.“
Musk also appeared to try and join in the fun, retweeting a parody account of himself that said the view limit was an attempt to make Twitter addicts “go outside”.
Representatives for Twitter did not respond to Insider’s request for comment with a message that addressed the question.
1. Where is this article most likely to occur?| A．In a free magazine offered on an airplane. |
| B．In a yearly review book concerning Internet and society. |
| C．In a newspaper published within one month. |
| D．In a literature criticism book on politics. |
| A．To comfort frustrated users. |
| B．To encourage more people to use Twitter. |
| C．To make Twitter more accessible to new users. |
| D．In response to pressure from AI companies. |
| A．Overwhelming support and agreement. |
| B．Diverse responses ranging from frustration to humor. |
| C．Complete disregard and indifference. |
| D．Massive user migration to other social media platforms. |
| A．Twitter’s user engagement might decrease due to the viewing limit. |
| B．Twitter’s popularity will surge due to increased exclusivity. |
| C．Twitter’s platform will become more secure and prevent data theft. |
| D．Twitter’s revenue will increase due to more users signing up. |
6 . Humans are pretty unique among life on Earth. As far as we know, we’re the only living species to evolve the higher intelligence, wear clothes, cook our food, and even invent smartphones. But what if humans suddenly went extinct? What other animals might evolve to have the smarts and skills to create large,complex societies as we have?
With modern genetic technology and our understanding of evolution, “we’re pretty good at making short-term predictions. “Martha Reiskind, an ecologist, told Live Science. For example, we can predict that if humans were to disappear tomorrow, climate change would continue to drive many species to adapt to drought. And species living in cold areas would continue to struggle to live as well.
“A big thing will be the concept of convergence.” Dougal Dixon, a geologist, told Live Science Convergence is an evolutionary process by which two unrelated creatures develop similar features in order to succeed in a particular environment. For example, with their sleek (光滑的) bodies and fins, fish are suitable for living in water. However, dolphins have evolved a very similar body plan—and unlike fish, they are warm-blooded, air-breathing animals with a totally different evolutionary background.
One feature that makes humans uniquely good at building is our skillful hands. In order to fill the same role as humans—that is, building cities and heavily modifying our environment—another species would need to develop a similar ability to control objects. Other primates (灵长目动物), like chimpanzees. our closest living relatives, already can make tools in the wild. It’s possible that if humans disappeared, they might replace us.
But any disaster terrible enough to destroy humans is also likely to destroy chimpanzees, which leaves another tool-using candidate to fill humans place: birds. Birds are very brainy. Some birds can use their feet to form wire into hooks. And trained African grey parrots can learn upwards of 100 words and do simple math, including understanding the concept of zero. Birds can also gather in large groups, and some even build group nesting sites.
Of course, all of these are predictions. Scientists have said it’s almost impossible to truly predict how evolution will unfold. As we go further and further out, the prediction is less accurate. And it’s even more difficult to predict whether another species will develop human-level intelligence, Some think that it could happen. Others, however, are less optimistic because they don’t think nature will make mistakes twice.
1. Why does the author mention fish and dolphins in Para. 3?| A．To show how dolphins evolved |
| B．To explain what convergence is. |
| C．To show the advantage of the fish shape |
| D．To explain the feature of animals living in water. |
| A．The ability to make tools | B．The habit of group living |
| C．The ability to do simple math | D．The close relationship with humans |
| A．Sea animals. | B．Chimpanzees |
| C．Birds. | D．Dogs. |
| A．Hopeless. | B．Challenging. |
| C．Promising. | D．Uncertain. |
7 . Women are equally responsible for the growth of a free, modern society. Here’s a look at some outstanding women who made great contributions to world history.
Maria Sibylla MerianToday, children can explain how a caterpillar (毛毛虫) turns into a butterfly (蝴蝶). But there was a time when no one knew this --not even scientists. Thanks to Maria Sibylla Merian, we know the truth about these beautiful winged insects. Merian was fascinated by insects, and she began collecting, studying, and drawing them when she was as young as 13. It was through her study of caterpillars that she discovered the truth about their life cycles.
Beryl MarkhamBeryl Markham was quite incredible in not just aviation (航空) but several other industries, including horse racing. In 1936, at age 33, Markham became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic alone from the east to the west, nonstop. The pilot played a role in the classic best-selling novel and film, Out of Africa, and had many biographies penned about her talents and life.
Madam C. J. WalkerMadam C J. Walker developed a condition that caused her to lose her hair, and with it, an interest in hair care. She began working for black hair care entrepreneur (企业家) Annie Turnbo Malone. Eventually, Walker began making and marketing her own hair care products designed for African-American women. Her company developed into the successful Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company. She is widely recognized as America’s first black female self-made millionaire.
Hedy LamarrYou might know Hedy Lamarr from the silver screen; she starred in many films. But her film career is far from her only achievement; she was also a brilliant inventor. In 1942, she received a patent for an invention that could change radio signal frequencies. It paved the way for much of the wireless technology we use today.
1. Who had a lot of enthusiasm for the study of insects?| A．Hedy Lamarr | B．Beryl Markham |
| C．Madam C.J. Walker | D．Maria Sibylla Merian |
| A．Her losing her hair. | B．A type of hair care product. |
| C．Annie Turnbo Malone’s success. | D．Her wish to help African Americans. |
| A．She was the first woman to fly across the Atlantic alone. |
| B．She was both a film star and an inventor. |
| C．She was a successful businesswoman. |
| D．She was a best-selling writer. |
1. How long did the two men spend at sea?
| A．One week. | B．About 20 days. | C．About one month. |
| A．Positive. | B．Ambiguous. | C．Negative. |
| A．Fish. | B．Seabirds. | C．Oranges. |
| A．A fisherman |
| B．The local government. |
| C．A search and rescue team. |
1. Who is the man’s favorite player?
| A．Messi. | B．Neymar. | C．Cristiano Ronaldo. |
| A．The influence. | B．The time change. | C．The best players. |
| A．Italy. | B．Brazil. | C．Germany. |
