How Many Books Does It Take to Make a Place Feel Like Home?
At the turn of the millennium, Reid Byers set out to build a private library at his home in Princeton, N.J. The project stretched over a
In The Privae Library, Mr. Byers goes to the heart of why physical books continue to attract us.
“Entering our library should feel like easing
Mr. Byers coined a term — “book-wrapt” —
And
2 . According to the World Health Organization, a global group that studies public health, 1.1 billion young adults are at risk of developing hearing loss. Smartphones are largely to blame. Can some headphones really damage your hearing?
Nerves carry messages to each other, such as sounds or sensations. Most hearing loss is the result of nerve wreck. Scientists use decibels to measure volume. You can listen to 85 decibels pretty much all day without causing any damage. That is about the noise level of busy city traffic. Things quickly become dangerous once you get louder than that. The noise level produced at a rock concert or by a chain saw is about 115 decibels. At this level, damage can happen in less than a minute. You might not immediately notice large hearing loss. It will add up over time. Some smartphones can crank (调高) music to 120 decibels. Say: you listen to 10 songs in a row at that volume. You might notice hearing loss by the time you take off your headphones.
What kind of headphones should people use? All of them have different benefits and downsides. Ear buds have a bad reputation because they sit in your ear canal. This allows them to release the sound closer to your ear. That means what you hear is almost the full force of the sound. Big, padded over-ear headphones do not sit as close to your eardrum. They still trap in sound, though. Sound from these headphones also reaches your eardrum at nearly full force. Then there are some special over-ear headphones, the kind with foam (泡沫) earphone covers which are better at blocking noise. They deliver sound around your ear instead of straight into it. It might not sound as good, but it’s healthier for your ears. Solid-plastic in-ear headphones are not very good at blocking out background noise. This might make you want to pump up the volume.
Doctors recommend that their patients get fitted for headphones which will help block background noise. In theory, this should encourage people to listen at lower volumes. But they are not sure it works that way because they think people just have a habit of turning it all the way up.
1. What does the word “wreck” in paragraph 2 mean?| A．Loss. | B．Damage. | C．Tension. | D．Decrease. |
| A．Driving at the city center. | B．Enjoying ten songs. |
| C．Using a chain saw. | D．Watching an action movie. |
| A．It is the volume that really damages people’s hearing |
| B．It’s unnecessary to turn down the volume for people with normal hearing |
| C．Picking right headphones has nothing to do with people’s hearing. |
| D．A good pair of headphones can adjust the volume of the smartphone. |
| A．Solid-plastic in-ear headphones. | B．Tiny in-ear headphones. |
| C．Big padded over-ear headphones. | D．Special over-ear headphones. |
3 . World Press Photo
The annual World Press Photo Contest recognizes and celebrates the best photo journalism and documentary photography produced over the last year. Entries for the 2023 World Press Photo Contest will open on 1 December 2022 and close on 10 January 2023. We are excited to welcome a multiplicity of stories and a diverse range of photographers from all over the world to enter the contest!
Regional winners
Every regional winner of the contest receives:
·A monetary prize of 1,000
·Inclusion in the annual World Press Photo year-long worldwide exhibition
·Inclusion in the annual collectible yearbook, available in multiple languages with a worldwide distribution of more than 30,000 copies
·Publication in the online collection and a personal profile on World Press Photo’s website
·A physical award
In addition, winners are often featured in major publications and invited to speak at public events, exhibition openings, and lectures throughout the year.
Global winners
A global jury selects the four global winners: the World Press Photo of the Year, the World Press Photo Story of the Year, the World Press Photo Long-Term Project Award, and the World Press Photo Open Format Award. The global winners will be chosen from the regional winners in their respective categories.
In addition to their regional prizes, global winners will also receive:
·An additional monetary prize of €5,000
·An additional physical award
1. Who would most probably enter for World Press Photo?| A．Storytellers. | B．Photographers. |
| C．Librarians. | D．Celebrities. |
| A．Their works will be exhibited for years. |
| B．A personal profile on any website is allowed. |
| C．30,000 copies of their works will be distributed to other winners. |
| D．They will be invited to deliver speeches throughout the year. |
| A．€1000. | B．€4000. | C．€5000. | D．€6000. |
4 . When I was 13, I climbed my first mountain--a fairly gentle 3,900-foot peak. I was overweight at the time and out of breath when I reached the summit. But I loved challenging myself. Soon I’d climbed nearly 100 peaks. My parents were happy I’d finally found a hobby.
I often go climbing with my friend Mel Olsen. She and I drove to tackle 11, 240-foot Mount Hood. It’s safer to start winter climbs at night when there’s less risk of the sun melting the snowpack. That day, we started at 3 a. m. At around9 a. m., we reached an ice step. It was about three or four feet tall and sloped al a 75-degree angle. 1 volunteered to go first. I placed my left foot on the ice step.
I gained a sense of the ice when 1 stuck my ax and crampons (鞋底钉) into it, and it felt good. Confident I was safe, I put my full weight on it. Suddenly, I heard a crack, and as the snowpack became thinner, a whole piece of ice broke off the step, right under my foot.
In an instant, I fell backward, bouncing off the rock face and rolling down the mountain as if I were a character in a video game. I remember thinking, This is it. You’re done. I stuck out my arms and legs, grabbing at anything. That stopped my rolling down the mountain, but I was still sliding, After 2 few seconds, I came to a stop on a shallow slope.
I asked myself: Where are you? Mount Hood. What’s the date? December 30. Good. My brain was functioning. Then I checked my body to see where I was hurt. For the most part, I was fine, except that I was suffering from a sharp pain in my left leg. Later I’d learn that I’d broken my femur (大腿骨) and that the bone was slicing into my skin and muscle.
At the bottom of Mount Hood, I was loaded into an ambulance and taken to a hospital. The doctors told me it would be a year before I could climb again, but I was back on the trails within six months.
1. Why did the author and her friend set out at 3 a. m. ?| A．It was the best time to enjoy scenery. | B．It was more challenging to climb at night. |
| C．They wanted to finish the climb before sunset. | D．They hoped to avoid some possible dangers. |
| A．To show her strong character. | B．To make her idea more convincing. |
| C．To help readers imagine the scene. | D．To add to the humor of the description. |
| A．By recalling what had happened. | B．By checking whether she was injured. |
| C．By calling an ambulance for rescue. | D．By asking herself some factual questions. |
| A．She is too brave to pay attention to any danger. |
| B．R She has a strong desire for professional knowledge. |
| C．Setbacks can’t stop her from challenging herself. |
| D．The love for nature sets her apart from her friends. |
5 . Photo Retouching Services
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1. How much will you spend if your portrait photo needs make-up correction?| A．$0.25. | B．$5. | C．$2.50. | D．$6. |
| A．Figure and Wedding. | B．Figure and Product. |
| C．Product and Jewellery. | D．Wedding and Jewellery. |
| A．Open an account on this website. | B．Upload your photos to retouchers. |
| C．Give a detailed self-introduction. | D．Take down your own requirements. |
6 . Essex Library Services Reading Friends
What is the role about?
Reading Friends is an exciting UK-wide programme from The Reading Agency. It’s been piloted in some other parts of the country over the last few years and now is being extended to Essex.
Developed with funding from the National Lottery Community Fund, Reading Friends deals with loneliness by bringing people together to read, chat and share stories. Essex Library Services is looking for volunteers to support the roll- out of the Reading Friends programme across Essex.
What will it involve?
*Chatting to people, either one to one, or in groups, using reading to get people talking. Contact will be via phone or computer initially. After restrictions are lifted, it is planned to do in-person sessions (活动时间) in libraries.
*Using reading — whether books, magazines, newspapers, or anything else — to start conversations. Nothing needs to be read before the session.
What skills and experience do you need?
*An interest in people
*Good communication and people skills
*Love of books and reading is not necessary, but would be a bonus
What will you get from volunteering?
*The satisfaction of contributing to the community and potentially preventing loneliness
*The chance to share the joy of reading
*Develop your experience and skills to enhance your resume (简历)
*A certificate of appreciation for coming along and helping out, which looks great on a resume
1. Who does the Reading Friends programme aim to help?| A．People feeling lonely. | B．People wanting to change a job. |
| C．People wanting to publish their stories. | D．People having special educational needs. |
| A．Having previous work experience. | B．Reading related books in advance. |
| C．Living in restrictions-lifted areas. | D．Being communicative. |
| A．A trip to Essex. | B．A certificate of appreciation. |
| C．A fund from the government. | D．An opportunity to work in libraries. |
7 . If the poems you read as part of the curriculum at school made you think poetry is old-fashioned, has to use fancy language, must always rhyme or is simply out-dated, then you’ll be pleased to know it doesn’t have to do any of these things.
Here are four poets whose work will make you look at poetry in a different and more positive light.
Misha Collins
Fans of Misha Collins may know him as Castiel in the TV show Supernatural, but he has never hidden the fact that he also writes poetry. Last year, he released his first book, Some Things I Still Can’t Tell You. This contains many of his poems that are expressed as simple thoughts and experiences, making them easy to read.
Most are about his wife and are bittersweet because at the end of the book, he reveals that they have parted ways.
Tracy K Smith
Tracy was the winner of the Cave Canem prize for the best first book by an African American poet, with her 2003 collection, The Body’s Question.
Her poems cover important issues around race, family, transcending from childhood into adulthood and much more. Each is easy to understand and relate to, while at the same time, deeply personal.
Rupi Kaur
Rupi Kaur has connected with a large audience, partly because her collection, Milk and Honey, has been translated into 42 languages to reach readers throughout the world. Her universal themes of migration, healing, loss, grief and trauma are another reason for her success.
While more traditional poetry also talks about some of these subjects, Kaur’s work is brutally honest and hard-hitting in ways that wouldn’t have been acceptable in earlier poetry.
Mel Wardle Woodend
Mel was the poet Laureate of Staffordshire between 2019 and 2022. She has several published collections to her name. This includes two dyslexic-friendly books for children, making poetry more accessible to them.
She also has a collection called Just a Thought, which raises awareness of mental health issues. This topic was rarely discussed at school, so Mel’s work is progressive and inviting to those who may not tick the typical boxes of someone who enjoys poetry.
1. In which book has the poet conveyed his/ her mixed feelings of pleasure and pain based on his/ her own personal experience?| A．Some Things I Still Can’t Tell You. | B．The Body’s Question. |
| C．Milk and Honey. | D．Just a Thought. |
| A．Themes of romance. | B．Conventional styles. |
| C．Narrative techniques. | D．Multi-language versions. |
| A．They are incomprehensible. | B．They are accessible. |
| C．They are personal. | D．They are rhyming. |
1. What do we know about the first house?
| A．It’s near a farm. | B．It’s well-equipped. | C．It’s decorated with fruits. |
| A．The washing machine. | B．The refrigerator. | C．The swimming pool. |
| A．The first one. | B．The second one. | C．The third one. |
One weekend, Mum and Dad both had to work, which meant that neither of them had time to look after Joe and Bella. But the two kids didn’t mind. They were going to spend the weekend with Gran, and Gran had promised to take them to the beach! But when they woke up on Saturday morning, and looked out of the window, they found the rain was pouring down!
Bella pressed her nose against the glass and said hopefully, “We can still go, can’t we?” But when Gran arrived to collect them, it was still pouring, and Gran said they would just have to spend the day at her house instead.
They tried taking Gran’s dog, Selby, for a walk, but when they opened the door, Selby took one look and ran back inside again! They did some homework, ready for Monday, and when they stopped — it was still raining Eventually, Gran went off to do some housework. Joe decided to do more homework. He had tests coming up at school and Mum and Dad were always on at him to work harder. Joe asked his sister to keep quiet. After a while, though, he heard noises from the kitchen. What was Bella up to? He got up and looked round the door. Bella was mixing something in a huge mixing bowl.
“What’s that?” Joe asked, a little annoyed.
“It’s a lovely cake,” said Bella happily. “But you can’t have any.”
“That’s a relief,”said Joe. “Because it looks terrible. And it smells worse!”
The cake mixture had all kinds of things in it and the smell was like no cake that Joe had ever smelled before!
“It’s not for humans,” said Bella. “It’s for dogs. I’ve made it specially for Selby, because he couldn’t go for his walk.”
“Well, I hope Selby likes it,” Joe said.
But Selby didn’t like it. When Bella put it down on the floor for him to eat, Selby took one smell and then ran out of the room! Bella burst into tears.
注意：
1.续写词数应为150左右;
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Gran came running into the kitchen. She asked what happened.
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After they made a beautiful cake for humans, the rain stopped.
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10 . You’ve just turned the final page of your book and got all sorts of thoughts and emotions. You’re dying to talk to someone about it.
Decide the type of book club.
Pick the book. Different book clubs take different approaches. Some allow each member to take a turn picking the book, while others have voting systems in place. If you’re struggling to make a selection, look to bestselling and award-winning books.
Figure out a meeting schedule. Scheduling is one of the most challenging elements you’ll encounter when learning how to start a book club. With busy work, and big life events, it can be tricky to get everyone together in the same place at the same time.
| A．They’re always a great choice. |
| B．Find your book club members. |
| C．Many book clubs keep it general. |
| D．It may be a little awkward at first. |
| E．All book lovers know this feeling. |
| F．Decide on a regular date for get-togethers. |
| G．Pick discussion questions to inspire your members. |
