I've always loved the ocean. In the
I decided to do something
One day, I saw a commercial for a health-care company. People in the ad were using plastic straws (吸管). I found the contact information of the company
I kept going. Whenever I heard of businesses using plastic, I'd send an email. One of the biggest companies I wrote to
China has become the first country to land a spacecraft on the far side of the moon. The unmanned Chang’e-4 probe (探测器) - the name was inspired by an ancient Chinese moon goddess
3 . A Few Tips for Self-Acceptance
We all want it… to accept and love ourselves. But at times it seems too difficult and too far out of reach.
●
●Forgive yourself for mistakes that you have made. We are often ashamed of our shortcomings, our mistakes and our failures.
●Recognize all of your strengths. Write them down in a journal. Begin to train your brain to look at strength before weakness. List all of your accomplishments and achievements. You have a job, earned your degree, and you got out of bed today.
●Now that you’ve listed your strengths, list your imperfections. Turn the page in your journal. Put into words why you feel unworthy, why you don’t feel good enough. Now, read these words back to yourself.
A.Feeling upset again? |
B.Where do you start? |
C.Nothing is too small to celebrate. |
D.Remember, you are only human. |
E.Set an intention for self-acceptance. |
F.Stop comparing yourself with others. |
G.When does the comparison game start? |
4 . Since our twins began learning to walk, my wife and I have kept telling them that our sliding glass door is just a window. The
I hate lying to the kids. One day they’ll
I wonder if
Maybe it’s an unreasonable fear. But the
A.relief | B.target | C.reason | D.case |
A.admit | B.believe | C.mean | D.realize |
A.gradually | B.constantly | C.temporarily | D.casually |
A.result | B.danger | C.method | D.truth |
A.merely | B.slightly | C.hardly | D.partly |
A.reviewing | B.approving | C.receiving | D.attempting |
A.win out | B.give up | C.wake up | D.stand out |
A.dream | B.lie | C.fantasy | D.fact |
A.parents | B.twins | C.colleagues | D.teachers |
A.restrictions | B.explanations | C.differences | D.consequences |
A.demand | B.fear | C.desire | D.doubt |
A.physical | B.biological | C.spiritual | D.behavioral |
A.traditional | B.important | C.double | D.original |
A.life | B.time | C.reply | D.history |
A.by comparison with | B.in addition to | C.regardless of | D.instead of |
A.get hold of | B.stare at | C.knock on | D.make use of |
A.real | B.typical | C.similar | D.limited |
A.safety rule | B.comfort zone | C.bottom line | D.top secret |
A.delay | B.regret | C.enjoy | D.accept |
A.hurry | B.decide | C.hesitate | D.intend |
5 . Returning to a book you’ve read many times can feel like drinks with an old friend. There’s a welcome familiarity - but also sometimes a slight suspicion that time has changed you both, and thus the relationship. But books don’t change, people do. And that’s what makes the act of rereading so rich and transformative.
The beauty of rereading lies in the idea that our bond with the work is based on our present mental register. It’s true, the older I get, the more I feel time has wings. But with reading, it’s all about the present. It’s about the now and what one contributes to the now, because reading is a give and take between author and reader. Each has to pull their own weight.
There are three books I reread annually .The first, which I take to reading every spring is Emest Hemningway’s A Moveable Feast. Published in 1964, it’s his classic memoir of 1920s Paris. The language is almost intoxicating (令人陶醉的),an aging writer looking back on an ambitious yet simpler time. Another is Annie Dillard’s Holy the Firm, her poetic 1975 ramble (随笔) about everything and nothing. The third book is Julio Cortazar’s Save Twilight: Selected Poems, because poetry. And because Cortazar.
While I tend to buy a lot of books, these three were given to me as gifs, which might add to the meaning I attach to them. But I imagine that, while money is indeed wonderful and necessary, rereading an author’s work is the highest currency a reader can pay them. The best books are the ones that open further as time passes. But remember, it’s you that has to grow and read and reread in order to better understand your friends.
1. Why does the author like rereading?A.It evaluates the writer-reader relationship. |
B.It’s a window to a whole new world. |
C.It’s a substitute for drinking with a friend. |
D.It extends the understanding of oneself. |
A.It’s a brief account of a trip. |
B.It’s about Hemingway’s life as a young man. |
C.It’s a record of a historic event. |
D.It’s about Hemingway’s friends in Paris. |
A.Debt |
B.Reward. |
C.Allowance. |
D.Face value. |
A.He loves poetry. |
B.He’s an editor. |
C.He’s very ambitious. |
D.He teaches reading. |
6 . An Australian professor is developing a robot to monitor the health of grazing cattle, a development that could bring big changes to a profession that's relied largely on a low-tech approach for decades but is facing a labor shortage.
Salah Sukkarieh, a professor at the University of Sydney, sees robots as necessary given how cattlemen are aging. He is building a four-wheeled robot that will run on solar and electric power. It will use cameras and sensors to monitor the animals. A computer system will analyze the video to determine whether a cow is sick. Radio tags (标签) on the animals will measure temperature changes. The quality of grassland will be tracked by monitoring the shape, color and texture (质地) of grass. That way, cattlemen will know whether they need to move their cattle to another field for nutrition purposes.
Machines have largely taken over planting, watering and harvesting crops such as com and wheat, but the monitoring of cattle has gone through fewer changes.
For Texas cattleman Pete Bonds, it's increasingly difficult to find workers interested in watching cattle. But Bonds doesn't believe a robot is right for the job. Years of experience in the industry - and failed attempts to use technology - have convinced him that the best way to check cattle is with a man on a horse. Bonds, who bought his first cattle almost 50 years ago, still has each of his cowboys inspect 300 or 400 cattle daily and look for signs that an animal is getting sick.
Other cattlemen see more promise in robots. Michael Kelsey Paris, vice president of the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association, said a robot could be extremely useful given rising concerns about cattle theft. Cattle tend to be kept in remote places and their value has risen, making them appealing targets.
1. What is a problem with the cattle-raising industry?A.Soil pollution. | B.Lack of workers. |
C.Aging machines. | D.Low profitability. |
A.Monitor the quality of grass. | B.Cure the diseased cattle. |
C.Move cattle to another field. | D.Predict weather changes. |
A.He wants to help them earn a living. | B.He thinks men can do the job better. |
C.He is inexperienced in using robots. | D.He enjoys the traditional way of life. |
A.Increase the value of cattle. | B.Bring down the cost of labor. |
C.Make the job more appealing. | D.Keep cattle from being stolen. |
7 . Molai grew up in a tiny village in India. The village lay near some wetlands which became his second
When he was 16, Molai began to notice something
Molai
A.dream | B.job | C.home | D.choice |
A.nature | B.youth | C.culture | D.knowledge |
A.precious | B.interesting | C.disturbing | D.awkward |
A.waste | B.tension | C.pain | D.damage |
A.Besides | B.However | C.Therefore | D.Otherwise |
A.agreed | B.realized | C.remembered | D.predicted |
A.noise | B.heat | C.disease | D.dust |
A.directions | B.partners | C.help | D.shelter |
A.labor | B.police | C.forest | D.finance |
A.rebuilt | B.discovered | C.left | D.managed |
A.Decorating | B.Observing | C.Watering | D.Guarding |
A.tough | B.illegal | C.fantastic | D.beneficial |
A.back | B.top | C.foot | D.side |
A.cool down | B.keep off | C.purify | D.collect |
A.returned | B.learned | C.failed | D.continued |
8 . For nearly a decade now, Merebeth has been a self-employed pet transport specialist. Her pet transport job was born of the financial crisis(危机)in the late 2000s. The downturn hit the real estate (房地产)firm where she had worked for ten years as an office manager. The firm went broke and left her looking for a new job. One day, while driving near her home, she saw a dog wandering on the road, clearly lost. She took it home, and her sister in Denver agreed to take it. This was a loving home for sure, but 1, 600 miles away. It didn’t take long for Merebeth to decide to drive the dog there herself. It was her first road trip to her new job.
Merebeth’s pet delivery service also satisfies her wanderlust. It has taken her to every state in the US except Montana, Washington and Oregon, she says proudly. If she wants to visit a new place, she will simply find a pet with transport needs there. She travels in all weathers. She has driven through 55 mph winds in Wyoming, heavy flooding and storms in Alabama and total whiteout conditions in Kansas.
This wanderlust is inherited from her father, she says. She moved their family from Canada to California when she was one year old, because he wanted them to explore a new place together. As soon as she graduated from high school she left home to live on Catalina Island off the Californian coast, away from her parents, where she enjoyed a life of sailing and off-road biking.
It turns out that pet transporting pays quite well at about $30, 000 per year before tax. She doesn’t work in summer, as it would be unpleasantly hot for the animals in the car, even with air conditioning. As autumn comes, she gets restless—the same old wanderlust returning. It’s a call she must heed alone, though. Merebeth says, “When I am on the road, I’m just in my own world. I’ve always been independent-spirited and I just feel strongly that I must help animals.”
1. Why did Merebeth changed her job?A.She wanted to work near her home. |
B.She was tired of working in the office. |
C.Her sister asked her to move to Denver. |
D.Her former employer was out of business. |
A.make money. | B.try various jobs. |
C.be close to nature. | D.travel to different places. |
A.She has chances to see rare animals. |
B.She works hard throughout the year. |
C.She relies on herself the whole time. |
D.She earns a basic and tax-free salary. |
9 . Is Fresh Air Really Good for You?
We all grew up hearing people tell us to “go out and get some fresh air.”
Recently, people have begun studying the connection between the natural world and healing(治愈).
A.Fresh air cleans our lungs. |
B.So what are you waiting for? |
C.Being in nature refreshes us. |
D.Another side benefit of getting fresh air is sunlight. |
E.But is fresh air really as good for you as your mother always said? |
F.Just as importantly, we tend to associate air with health care. |
G.All across the country, recovery centers have begun building Healing Gardens. |
In ancient China lived an artist
Filled with