1 . Emojis are everywhere. They offer effective and fun ways to interact with others. Used well, they can become an engaging and creative addition to communication.
One well-chosen emoji can replace many words of text.
Emojis are clear, colorful, and designed to convey a single message memorably — which has been shown to increase interest and engagement. They stand out among text, especially when the recipient is working quickly or on the move.
Many emojis mean the same thing to everyone, everywhere.
Emojis can help you to show your human side, making you seem friendlier and more approachable. What’s more, the brain reacts to images of faces, and to real faces, in a very similar way.
Alongside all the potential benefits of emojis that we’ve listed above, there are also dangers you’ll need to guard against.
| A．Here are some of the reasons why emojis are so popular. |
| B．Many employees in some western countries are using emojis at work. |
| C．An emoji is often easier and quicker to understand than a written explanation. |
| D．So they can break through language barriers, and promote easy communication. |
| E．For example, you could select an emoji of a house to set your status as “working from home.” |
| F．A poorly chosen emoji can cause problems, because some of the images are not universally understood. |
| G．For example, the crossed fingers emoji means good luck in some places, but it’s seen as an impolite sign in others. |
2 . If you’re an English learner or an English speaker looking to widen your vocabulary, a good dictionary app is a must.
Merriam-Webster
Merriam-Webster is a well-known and highly trusted dictionary. The app provides quality definitions, audio pronunciations and usage examples. It even lets you search for words by speaking them! This feature is perfect when you hear a word you don’t understand but aren’t sure how it’s written.
Oxford Dictionary of English
The Oxford Dictionary of English app is a comprehensive and reliable resource for English language reference. The app provides clear and concise definitions, along with audio pronunciations and example sentences. You can also access synonyms, antonyms and word origins. Additionally, the app offers offline functionality, allowing you to access the dictionary even without an internet connection.
Vocabulary.com
The Vocabulary.com dictionary app is excellent for English learners because it has very easy-to-understand definitions. The site says it’s “as if your favorite teacher were explaining it to you.” Each definition has explanations of what the word means and also when and how you would use it. It even turns learning into a game by letting you earn points!
FluentU
FluentU takes real-world videos and turns them into personalized language learning lessons. It uses a natural approach that helps you ease into the English language and culture over time. You’ll learn English as it’s spoken in real life. The best part is that FluentU keeps track of the vocabulary that you’re learning and gives you extra practice with difficult words. It even reminds you when it’s time to review!
1. Merriam-Webster app can help English learners ________.| A．find right words to speak perfect English |
| B．search for a word even without an internet connection |
| C．learn difficult words by practicing more and reviewing |
| D．look for a word when they are unsure about its spelling |
| A．Merriam-Webster. | B．Oxford Dictionary of English. |
| C．Vocabulary.com. | D．FluentU. |
| A．To recommend useful dictionary apps. |
| B．To give suggestions on English learning. |
| C．To offer advice on how to use a dictionary app. |
| D．To introduce the sources of English vocabulary. |
When I hurried to the store, I saw that the books were already being packed into
The Little Prince
Chinese Paper Cut | |
| long history | over 2,000 years |
| very popular | in different parts of China, young or old, be fond of, do well in |
| different shapes | birds, animals, flowers … |
| Where do people put Chinese paper cuts? ... | |
You wanted to know about Chinese paper cut. Here I’m glad to tell you something about it.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Best wishes.
Yours,
Li Ming
The h
Famous s
7 . In comparison to many closely-related species, the human child takes a long time to grow up and requires a high degree of parental investment(亲情投资). Human children need more time to reach maturity(成熟)than other closely-related species.
A new study finds that one reason is the large amount of energy that the brain requires as it grows.
Christopher Kuzawa, first author of the study, explained: “Our findings suggest that our bodies can’t afford to grow faster during the toddler(幼童)and childhood years because a huge quantity of resources is required to fuel developing the human brain. As humans we have so much to learn, and that learning requires a complex and energy-hungry brain.”
Data from the study shows that at the moment when children’s bodies are growing the least-on average, at four years old-their brains are using the highest percentage of glucose(葡萄糖). That means that 40% of the child’s total energy expenditure is being used by its brain.
The findings support the theory that children take so long to mature because of the energy-intensive task of growing a massively over-sized brain in comparison to the brain-to-body weight ratio of other species.
Kuzawa continued: “After a certain age it becomes difficult to guess a toddler or young child’s age by their size. Instead you have to listen to their speech and watch their behavior. Our study suggests that this is no accident.”
Body growth nearly stops at the ages when brain development is happening at a lightning pace, because the brain is using up the available resources.”
“The mid-childhood peak in brain costs has to do with the fact that there are a huge number of synapses(神经元突触), connections in the brain, at this age, when we learn so many of the things we need to know to be successful humans.”
1. Why does it take people so long to grow up?| A．They need to store energy to grow later. |
| B．They need time to adapt to their environment. |
| C．Most of the energy is used for brain development. |
| D．They need a high degree of parental investment. |
| A．At about four years old. | B．At about two years old. |
| C．At about one year old. | D．At about five years old. |
| A．Why toddlers and children need plenty of resources. |
| B．The reason why it takes human infants a long time to grow up. |
| C．The reason why human infants are similar to other animals. |
| D．Why the brains of people need a large amount of energy. |
| A．age | B．their size |
| C．listen to their speech | D．guess their age by listening and watching |
8 . Dog walkers should show consideration, not just for the dog in their home or car, but also for their environment. Doing so will help keep the local area clean and pleasant, especially for people out walking their dog or taking children to the park.
A considerate dog walker will take steps to prevent their pets from producing waste wherever they want to. Dog waste is particularly unpleasant and should be avoided at all costs. Not only is it nasty to walk in a dirty area, but it is also a serious health risk. Dog fouling ( 污垢) is a criminal offence in the UK and carries a maximum fined ￡1,000 if the case goes to court (法庭). Dog walkers should always be prepared to pick up after their dog by carrying dog waste bags or even plastic carrier bags that can be used. Do not run the risk of allowing your dog to make a public area dirty by always having a steady supply of bags with you during dog walks. Carrying a single bag during a walk is not always enough, as some dogs will need to go twice or perhaps even three times during walks.
Some dog owners are not willing to admit that their pets is a challenge or troublesome. Rather than dislike the suggestions that dogs should be kept under control, you should see it as your duty to protect other dogs, children and anyone else from harm. Do know troublesome behaviors such as aggression (攻击) towards other dogs or children and make every effort to keep your dog under control. Avoid areas where you know other dogs or children will be. They can do this by showing respect for other people’s property, picking up after their dog and by keeping challenging dogs under control.
1. The writer advises dog walkers to show consideration mainly for having_____.| A．a clean car | B．a comfortable home |
| C．a good environment | D．a very pleasant park |
| A．Highly unpleasant or annoying. | B．Very boring and tiring. |
| C．Specially disappointing | D．Surprising or astonishing. |
| A．fined more than ￡1,000 | B．ordered to pick it up at once |
| C．ordered to give one one waste bag | D．considered to break the law. |
| A．To keep their dogs under control. | B．To try to make their dogs keep clean. |
| C．To stop their dogs from being harmed. | D．To respect other people’s property. |
9 . Very far away from the city lived a poor farmer and his wife. In front of their house was a small dirt road. Very few cars drove on this road because it was so far from the city. On the dirt road, there was a big hole filled with water. The hole was very deep, but drivers on the road didn’t know just how deep. Drivers always drove into the hole, but they never drove out.
One day, a man in a new car was driving down the road. He saw the hole with the water, but he didn’t think it was very deep. He drove into the hole, but he couldn’t drive out. The man saw the farmer on his tractor working in the field, and he signaled to the farmer. The farmer drove over to the man in the new car.
“Is there a problem?” asked the farmer.
“Yes,” said the man. “My car is stuck in this hole. Can you help me?”
“Maybe,” said the farmer. “But I’m very busy.”
“If you help me, I’ll pay you,” said the man.
“OK,” said the farmer. The farmer pulled the car out of the hole with his tractor, and the man paid him a lot of money. The man looked at the farmer and said, “You must make a lot of money pulling cars out of this hole day and night.”
“Actually, no,” said the farmer.
“Why not?” asked the man.
“The hole is very deep, and a lot of people get stuck and ask for help. But I don’t make money day and night because I don’t pull cars out at night.”
“At night I’m busy filling the hole with water,” answered the farmer.
1. Why did very few cars drive on the small dirt road?| A．Because the road was dirty. | B．Because it was so far from the city. |
| C．Because very few people knew the way. | D．Because the drivers knew there was a hole. |
| A．he just learnt to drive a car | B．it was the first time that he passed there |
| C．he knew how deep the hole was | D．he knew the farmer in the field |
| A．Drivers didn’t see there was a hole on the road. |
| B．The man drove into the hole and never drove out. |
| C．The farmer was busy filling the hole with water at night. |
| D．The driver made a lot of money pulling cars out of the hole day and night. |
| A．The road | B．The city | C．The car | D．The man |
