1 . Our brains process information differently: It's a good idea to talk to your children about the ways our minds function. Here are some picture books that teach children about neurodiversity(神经多样性).
My Brain is Magic: A Sensory Seeking Celebration
Prasha Sooful(Author), Geeta Ladi(Illustrator) Age: 5-9
A sensory-seeking child describes and celebrates their wonderful life in this book that highlights sensory processing and neurodiversity in a positive way for children to enjoy. Through the power of magic and imagination, different animals and insects represent sensory scenarios. The book includes a note for parents to help make sure their children's sensory needs are met.
Some Brains: A Book Celebrating Neurodiversity
Nelly Thomas(Author), Cat McInnes(Illustrator) Age: 4-8
Let's celebrate neurodiversity! This book does just that. Some Brains encourages readers to examine the strength and power of having a wonderfully unique brain! Additionally, MeInnes filled the pages with vividly inclusive illustrations so that children actually see the beauty of our diverse world.
Too Sticky: Sensory Issues With Autism(自闭症)
Jen Malia(Author), Joanne Lew-Vriethoff(Illustrator) Age: 4-8
Although Holly loves science experiments, she's unsure how she'll feel about making slime(烂泥) because it is sticky! Holly's family and teacher help her find accommodations, and she learns that slime isn't so bad after all. What's great about this book is that the author is a neurodivergent parent of three neurodivergent children, making this an essential "own voices" story to add to your collection.
Brilliant Bea
Shaina Rudolph and Mary Vukadinovich(Authors), Fiona Lee(Illustrator) Age: 4-8
Beatrice uses a tape recorder to tell stories because she can speak her words and say them back. She is dyslexic(读写障碍) and shows her classmates how using a tape recorder helps her learn and keep stories. Brilliant Bea is set in EasyReading, a dyslexia-friendly font.
1. Which book explores the idea of neurodiversity through a sensory seeking child's perspective?| A．Brilliant Bea |
| B．Too Sticky: Sensory Issues With Autism |
| C．Some Brains: A Book Celebrating Neurodiversity |
| D．My Brain is Magic: A Sensory Seeking Celebration |
| A．Ways to deal with different brain conditions. |
| B．The differences between normal brains and unique brains. |
| C．The importance of accepting neurodiversity. |
| D．Techniques for understanding the complexity of the brain. |
| A．Their main characters have a love for science. |
| B．They focus on kids with disabilities. |
| C．They emphasize the power of imagination. |
| D．They tell stories about celebrating neurodiversity. |
| A．A guy stole his clothes. |
| B．He found his clothes ugly. |
| C．Someone said he was ugly. |
| A．He didn’t get the invitation. |
| B．He was worried about his friend. |
| C．He was involved in a car accident. |
1. How did the interviewers feel after reading Mark’s resume?
| A．Satisfied. | B．Embarrassed. | C．Disappointed. |
| A．Having little work experience. |
| B．Being poor at speaking in public. |
| C．Lacking confidence in the interview. |
1. Where does the woman usually watch the 2022 Winter Olympics?
| A．On her cellphone. | B．On TV. | C．On the computer. |
| A．It can be the best in history. |
| B．It’s widely watched in the US. |
| C．It promotes streaming services. |
| A．Figure skating. | B．Freestyle skiing. | C．Ice hockey. |
6 . Get Ready to Read!
| DATE | STORE NAME | CITY |
| 2/27/16 | Barnes & Noble | Check your local B & N |
| 2/27/16 | The Magic House | Kirkwood |
| 2/27/16 | Meijer | Indianapolis |
| 3/2/16 | Avid Bookshop | Athens |
| 3/4/16 | William J Clinton Presidential Library | Little Rock |
| 3/4/16 | Baylor Bookstore | Waco |
“You’re never too old to pick up a book and read with a child.” That’s the message the National Education Association (NEA) hopes to convey (传递) during this year’s Read Across America celebration. The event is held on March 2 to honor the birthday of The Odor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss. But the festivities (庆典活动) aren’t limited to one day. From February 27 to March 4, students, teachers and families nationwide will be in the joy of reading.
Read Across America began 19 years ago as a way to get kids excited about reading. “You have this magical thing happen when an adult sits with a kid and turns the pages, and reads in a funny voice, and you laugh together,” Lily Eskelsen Garca, the NEA president, told TFK. “The key point is making it fun, not for the next test, not because it’s something they have to memorize or something they have to do.”
Kids can celebrate Read Across America with any book they like. But in honor of Dr. Seuss, they might want to pick up his most recent published work, What Pet Should I Get? It was discovered 20 years after Dr. Seuss’s death and published in July of 2015, making fans of the author delighted. Like other Dr. Seuss’s books, What Pet Should I Get? includes rhymes (韵文), humor and familiar Seussian illustrations (插图). In it, a brother and a sister visit a pet shop and have trouble choosing just one animal to bring home.
Anyone can take part in Read Across America. All it takes is getting a book or a few loved ones and sharing the joy of reading.
1. According to the text, the event on March 2 is held in_______.| A．Barnes & Noble | B．The Magic House |
| C．Baylor Bookstore | D．Avid Bookshop |
| A．To promote American culture. |
| B．To get children to study hard. |
| C．To make children interested in books. |
| D．To introduce famous writers to the public. |
| A．teachers | B．parents |
| C．children | D．pet shop owners |
7 . A recent survey carried out by the United Kingdom’s Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) found about half of clothes sold online by major fast fashion sellers are made completely from virgin polyester (纯聚酯纤维). The group studied over 10,000 clothes posted online during a two-week period in May by ASOS, Boohoo, Missguided, and PrettyLittleThing, and it made some worrying findings.
As many as 88% of the clothes on the above-mentioned websites cover virgin polyester mixed with other materials (材料). Very few have reused materials. In many cases, clothes covering both reused and virgin polyester had the word “reused” added to the product’s title, which is misleading.
The RSA study points out the production of virgin polyester causes big environmental damage. According to an MIT study, we can know that “a polyester shirt produces 5.5kg of CO2, 20% more than cotton (棉), and the same as CO2 produced by driving 13 miles in a passenger car. In 2015, polyester production was responsible for 700 million tonnes of CO2”. Clothes made cheaply from virgin polyester are not much different from the single-use plastic (塑料) packaging that is causing much environmental damage to the world.
Shoppers would do well to start viewing virgin polyester as similar to single-use plastic packaging. In order to encourage this, RSA hopes that shoppers will buy more natural fabrics, which are likely to age better, last longer, and not cause as much pollution once thrown away. The most useful strategy, of course, is to buy less. To be clear, RSA is not against all new polyester in clothing — it just needs to be used more responsibly.
1. What is described in Paragraph 2?| A．The difficulty in green production. | B．The popularity of online shopping. |
| C．The poor design of clothes sold online. | D．The actual materials used in most clothes. |
| A．By listing some examples. | B．By doing an experiment. |
| C．By referring to another study. | D．By using an expert’s words. |
| A．Advances in technology. | B．Less attention to fashion. |
| C．A change in shopping habits. | D．The disappearance of plastic. |
| A．Plastic packaging is still widely used. | B．Fast fashion causes an environmental problem. |
| C．It is unwise to follow the general fashion. | D．Environmental problems become more serious. |
Aging Wisely Life from Fifty to Seventy-five Years Viola B. Mecke, Ph.D., ABPP With retirement, life is expected to be easier. Four stages of retirement are described, showing how pleasures and contentment mix with complexities of bring fears, problems that may loneliness, and sorrows. www.xlibris.com Hardback | Paperback | E-book $28.99 | $16.99 | $3.99 | Cosmic Quest C. Argon Cosmic Visitors were high-energy carriers from the Perseus Arm of the Milky Way galaxy. They needed to rent abandoned earth bodies for their planets’ DNA diversity and Cosmic Quest. www.authorhouse.com Hardback | Paperback | E-book $31.99 | $20.99 | $3.99 |
The Black Three Gene Skipworth Grayville never had a black basketball player. Now it has three. A block doctor just moved to the town whose three sons took Weston to the Ohio State basketball championship. www.authorhouse.com Hardback | Paperback | E-book |Audiobook $23.99 | $13.99 | $3.99 | $9.99 | Jazzy and Rhumbì Dorl Seider This heartwarming and adventurous tale is told from the perspective of two smart kitties, Jazzy Girl Muffin and Rhumbi Boy, who secretly influence their humans Boy, who secretly influence their humans to love and rescue more animals. www.xllbris.com Hardback | Paperback | E-book $40.99 | $32.99 | $3.99 |
Tackle Box Troubles Fish Tale #1: Sammy Spinner Susan Duke Sammy Spinner is the newest fishing lure to join Tackle Box Troubles. Can Sammy learn fishing tips to catch really big fish, or will he find himself in trouble? www.xlibris.com Hardback | Paperback | E-book $22.99 | $14.99 | $5.99 | The Origin and Future of Mankind Shaun Dowling Shaun Dowling describes in detail how the universe was formed, how our planet developed, when life appeared, and how it has evolved over time. www.authorhouse.com Paperback | E-book $21.55 | $4.99 |
| A．Cosmic Quest. | B．Jazzy and Rhumbi. |
| C．Tackle Box Troubles. | D．The Origin and Future of Mankind. |
| A．They are all intended for kids. | B．They each have a digital version. |
| C．They all have three different prices. | D．They can be downloaded from the same website. |
| A．A book review. | B．A library poster. | C．An academic column. | D．A book advertisement. |
9 . From page-turning thrillers to comic novels—here are our picks of the hot lest new books for a great escape.
To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara
A fragile, wealthy young man looks for love in the 19th century New York filled with discrimination...The great power of this remarkable novel is driven by Yanagihara’s understanding of the aching desire to protect those we love.
Companion Piece by Ali Smith
Coming on the heels of Smith’s seasonal quartet(四重奏), Companion Piece boldly captures the spirit of the times, our pandemic-infected world, describing a broader story about loneliness, sadness, isolation, and freedom...
Amy & Lan by Sadie Jones
A special child’s eye view of an experiment in living, in which city families join hands to setup a rural farm, deep in English villages. The kids alteratively describe their lives over several years, focusing as much on the animals as on the people.
Homesickness by Colin Barrett
It’s been eight years since the prize-winning Young Skins, but this second short-story collection is worth the wait. Shocking and slow-burning, eight character-driven tales of misadventures are written with a casual grace, each showcasing Barrett’s unique black humor.
I’m Sorry You Feel That Way by Rebecca Wait
Toxic mothers, absent fathers, angry sisters, and mad brothers—this sharp, wise comedy is full of ups and downs and severe mental health realities, describing in great accuracy and detail the process of a breakdown and how it impacts the individual family member.
1. Which of the following describes the life in the countryside?| A．Companion Piece. | B．Amy & Lan. |
| C．Homesickness. | D．I’m Sorry You Feel Thai Way. |
| A．To Paradise contains a story set in 19th century Britain. |
| B．Homesickness is a collection of short stories in a darkly funny style. |
| C．Companion Piece is are present alive of Ali Smith’s seasonal quartet. |
| D．I’m Sorry You Feel That Way concerns emotional breakdowns among friends. |
| A．A textbook. | B．A report. |
| C．A magazine. | D．An announcement. |
10 . The National Park System offers families a wonderfully affordable way to enjoy America’s most beautiful scenery.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
As the most visited national park in America, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park covers over 522, 000 acres (英亩) of land in North Carolina and Tennessee. It offers breathtaking scenery and wildlife viewing. Despite attracting large numbers of visitors, it presents plenty of opportunities for visitors to be alone, whether to go on a hike, take a scenic drive or relax at a park campsite.
Yellowstone National Park
Set up in 1872 as the first U. S. national park, Yellowstone is arguably the most unique. Its 2. 2 million acres fall mainly in Wyoming and sit at the highest point of one of the continent’s largest active supervolcanoes. It has a diverse ecosystem including lakes, rivers, and mountain ranges.
Rocky Mountain National Park
Rocky Mountain National Park’s 415 square miles include mountain lakes and rolling grasslands. There are more than 300 miles of hiking paths to explore along with wildlife like sheep and deer. Adventurous travelers can brave the 48-mile Trail Ridge Road, which takes travelers to an altitude (海拔) of near 11, 500 feet!
Acadia National Park
This park on the rough Maine coast is home to various plants and animals and the tallest mountain on the U. S. Atlantic coast. Today visitors come to Acadia to hike rock peaks, bike along historic carriage roads, or relax and enjoy the natural beauty near the coast.
1. What can visitors do in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park?| A．Feed wildlife. | B．Go camping. |
| C．Drive along the coast. | D．Climb rocky mountains. |
| A．It has diverse grasslands. | B．It has the most breathtaking scenery. |
| C．It lies on top of a supervolcano. | D．It is home to the States’ tallest mountain. |
| A．In Acadia National Park. |
| B．In Yellowstone National Park. |
| C．In Rocky Mountain National Park. |
| D．In the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. |
