Every weekend, Yang Jie spends at least a morning at a book house by the 6,300 km-long Yangtze River, reading while enjoying a cup of coffee. The book house that Yang Jie often visits
Pipa Pavilion offers more than 5,000 books free
Similarly, China is building cultural parks centered around the Great Wall, the Grand Canal, the Long March and the Yellow River, all of
4 . In the early hours of the morning on April 17, Kevin Record, 43, was sleeping in his apartment on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, England. His dog, Shogun, jumped onto the bed and
Though suffering serious life-changing
Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS)
Speaking from his hospital bed, Kevin promised he would routinely check his e-scooter and make sure it is in good working
A.pushed | B.picked | C.drew | D.woke |
A.fell off | B.blew up | C.turned over | D.ran out |
A.knocks | B.cuts | C.ruins | D.burns |
A.escape | B.keep | C.hear | D.suffer |
A.Finally | B.Typically | C.Unfortunately | D.Undoubtedly |
A.scared | B.nervous | C.puzzled | D.heartbroken |
A.forget | B.realize | C.express | D.regret |
A.result | B.shape | C.speed | D.color |
A.spread | B.awoke | C.pointed | D.jumped |
A.exciting | B.frightening | C.amazing | D.confusing |
A.backed | B.responded | C.turned | D.connected |
A.save | B.collect | C.move | D.deliver |
A.fuel | B.seat | C.engine | D.battery |
A.mind | B.order | C.practice | D.platform |
A.aim | B.model | C.warning | D.example |
5 . In the continuing fever for outdoor sports and activities, China’s young generation now find themselves drawn to a new activity—lure fishing (假饵钓鱼).
Traditional fishing methods use real bait (饵) and often require hours of patient waiting. However, lure fishing takes a different approach. Here, fishermen use man-made bait to copy the movements of a fish’s natural prey (捕食) such as swimming, struggling and escaping. In this way, fish will mistake the bait for the real prey and make attack. Because fishermen need to frequently throw and take back the line to seek for fish, the sport looks elegant and is called “water golf”.
“The fish shakes and struggles sharply. The feeling is just like putting your hand out of the window while driving at fifty miles per hour,” a fishing lover says, recalling his experience of catching a big fish using a lure fishing technique.
In recent months, many young Chinese have taken to social media to share their experiences. The topic “lure fishing” has over 140,000 posts on the lifestyle platform Xiaohongshu, and videos with the same tag have billions of views on the short video platform Douyin.
Another feature that attracts the young generation is lure fishing’s environmentally-responsible approach. By using green man-made bait, the activity does not bring trouble to the natural environment of the water. Also, the general agreement in the lure fishing community is to “catch and release”, which is to let the little fish go and grow, in order to protect fish.
Moreover, lure fishing is beginner-friendly and requires less equipment compared with traditional fishing. A basic set costs between 500 and 2,000 yuan. But costs can rise significantly if you seek to take a more professional approach.
“Each fishing scene has its fishing rod (竿), and each fishing technique also has its fishing rod,” another lure fishing lover says. He adds he has seven to eight sets of fishing rods, which should come to thousands of yuan in cost.
1. How is lure fishing different from traditional methods?A.It is a more active way. | B.It uses real small fish as bait. |
C.It is a more time-consuming way. | D.It saves fishing lovers’ energy. |
A.Tired. | B.Relaxed. | C.Surprised. | D.Touched. |
A.It uses more natural bait. | B.It requires fewer resources. |
C.It improves the quality of water. | D.It maintains fish’s living condition. |
A.Its expenses. | B.Its skills. | C.Its benefits. | D.Its audiences. |
6 . One of Twitter’s main characters recently was a man who chose to keep his middle seat between a couple on a flight instead of moving to the side. The situation raised some questions: Who are these middle-seat lovers? What do they want?
Many of the thousands of replies suggested that the majority of the flying public cannot understand why someone would ever choose the middle over a window or an aisle (走廊). But among the majority appeared a few people who endorse middle seats. “In the middle seat I don’t feel I should lean one way or another and generally sit pretty comfortably,” one person wrote. Another added: “I’m not getting hit by someone walking down the aisle or luggage either.”
Kyle Burke, in Florida, said on Twitter that he usually exchanged seats when asked. “I didn’t want to sit between a couple that were upset with me,” he told The Washington Post. At 6-foot-7, Burke, 41, said he didn’t fit well in plane seats, anyway. So, he preferred the middle, which gives him double chance of having a chatty neighbor.
Frederick resident Samantha Jones told The Post by email that she usually chose the middle seat when traveling alone. As a mother of three, “Having personal space is a far-off memory.” she said. “Middle seats have the least amount of responsibility,” she wrote. “I don’t control the window shade and only have to get by one person to get out or to go to the bathroom.”
Despite the few fans, middle seats are still not likely to get much respect. “There’s nothing good in the middle seat,” Scott McCartney, the writer of the journal Middle Seat said. “The position’s infamy (臭名昭著) was part of the reason for the journal’s name.” He added: “People really care about the ‘middle seat’, so they are more likely to pick up this magazine on seeing it.”
1. How does the author start the text?A.By challenging a common belief. | B.By raising a couple’s questions. |
C.By comparing travelers’ preferences. | D.By presenting an unusual seat choice. |
A.Exchange. | B.Resist. | C.Support. | D.Indicate. |
A.It provides larger space. | B.It reduces unnecessary trouble. |
C.It avoids family responsibilities. | D.It offers networking opportunities. |
A.To catch readers’ eyes. | B.To voice his own taste. |
C.To make people think. | D.To urge airlines to change. |
The Irish poet Yeats said, “The intellect (才智出众者) of man is forced to choose: perfection of the life, or of the work.” He was wrong. You could have both.
You’re noticing that time spent on academic learning is time not spent with friends. That time cost will get worse as you get older, rounded with working, achievement-hunting or family responsibilities. Many achievers have woken up at age 50 or 70, only to wonder where all of their friends and soft memories were.
It is too easy to forget why we are trying to gain money and knowledge. It is for a life well-lived instead of money and knowledge themselves. Smart people make this stupid mistake all the time, in search for the means to an end so much that they forget the end altogether.
The trick is to see your day, not your life, as the place where you carry out your priorities. Every day there will be one more task you could do. Teach yourself to stop even though there’s more to do. Think of things you have missed out in your life and promise yourself you won’t do them again: “I won’t cancel on a friend’s birthday” or “I won’t speak to my family as though I’m the lead.”
Giving slightly less time to work doesn’t mean achieving less. I have been lucky to know some seriously achieving people in my life from Rhodes scholars to Nobel Prize and Pulitzer Prize winners. None of them are in their office at 11 p.m. flapping papers. If they were, they would not have such energy for their greatness.
You don’t have to choose between life and work since making time for one helps the other. But you have to make the time since how you plan your day is how you plan your life.
Eleanor Gordon-Smith
1. What problem is troubling Alexa?A.How to adapt to her school life. |
B.How to balance her studies and social life. |
C.How to improve her test grades. |
D.How to get along well with her classmates. |
A.It is too late to make friends at 50 or 70. |
B.Many people lose their memory at 50 or 70. |
C.The elderly are fond of thinking back the old days. |
D.Regret on the time spending may be expressed by old achievers. |
A.To encourage necessary rest among tasks. |
B.To summarize useful methods in learning. |
C.To praise their achievements in their fields. |
D.To list common qualities of successful people. |
A.Hard work is the key to success. |
B.A friend is easier lost than found. |
C.There are more important things than prizes. |
D.It is significant to make the most of time in a day. |
8 . Everyone knows a power nap feels good, but do you know that power naps fit right into your normal sleep or wake cycle? And, if done right, they can really help you get through the day.
We are built to nap
Our bodies have an inside timekeeper called the circadian rhythm (昼夜节律). The term “circadian” comes from the Latin words meaning “about (circa) a day (diem)”. It is based on 24-hour light/dark cycle and allows your body to keep with the light/dark environment. The circadian rhythm helps you fall asleep and wake up. It changes during the day, as shown in the picture.
Keys to power napping
Your body’s circadian rhythm falls and rises throughout the day. With the largest fall in the afternoon, your body becomes more tired during this time. That is to say, in the afternoon, you are designed for napping.
In studies, a nap lasting a quarter can do the most help in school performance and thinking ability. It helps you to concentrate on your class and reduce stress without affecting your ability to fall asleep at night. As for when to start, the best answer will be around 2:00 pm according to the variation of circadian rhythm.
In addition to the length and the timing, there are other ways you can make the most of your power naps:
Try deep-breathing or another relaxation technique as you start.
Choose a quiet, darkened location. A sleep mask may help.
Lie down or sit in a comfortable chair.
Listen to soft music or white noise.
Try a bit of stretching and walking around to refresh after your nap.
1. At which time does the circadian rhythm decrease?A.From 7:00 am to 10:00 am. | B.From 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. |
C.From 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm. | D.From 2:00 pm to 10:00 pm. |
A.20 minutes. | B.15 minutes. | C.10 minutes. | D.5 minutes. |
A.Stay in a quiet place. | B.Play country music. |
C.Stretch our bodies. | D.Remove the eye mask. |
— _________, you know.
A.When the cat’s away, the mice will play | B.There is not enough room to swing a cat |
C.One man’s meat is another man’s poison | D.Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater |
A.must | B.can | C.should | D.need |