A. After one month of painting every day, from sunrise to sunset, I was selling here and there, mostly right off the easel (画架), but I quickly burned through my savings, and soon after, lost my apartment and moved into my car parked along the Pacific Coastline. A few more months passed. I was underfed and had no gas to move my car, but I kept painting.
B. This was back in 2008 and so many years later, I’m painting more than ever. I will still pick up an illustration job from time to time, but painting plein air is what I love more than anything - this is how I spend my time. I have work in a couple of galleries here in Oregon, but I do most of my sales through my website, which is updated daily.
C. One day, with a dozen paintings laid out by my feet in South Laguna with a serious sunburn and hungry stomach, a woman walked by, complimented my work and then bought all of my paintings! Turns out this woman was a big art collector. Then she generously gave me a show in her home a couple of weeks later. I nearly sold out at the show and then I got picked up by a famous gallery in Laguna Beach the following week.
D. After graduating from art school with a degree in illustration (插图), I was at a stand still and didn’t know how to work in the art industry. Back then, I was still living in Laguna Beach, California, so I decided to try my hand at plein air (野外写生) painting. This was something I had only done once or twice before, and with little success.
E. After a week, I fell in love with the work of Edgar Payne, William Wendt and the like, and at that moment I knew this was what I wanted to do with my life.
3 . The reopening of an Asian American-owned bookstore in Manhattan's Chinatown following a January fire has received a warm welcome back from its supporters.
Yu &. Me Books, which is regarded as the first female-owned Asian American bookshop in New York City, has raised more than $369,000 for repairs since a tragic fire on January 4. It reopened on Wednesday. "We are so excited to welcome you all back to our Yu &. Me Books home," the store announced on Instagram. "We can't wait to shed tears, laugh loudly and open our hearts with all of you who have made us feel at home."
The fire in an apartment above the bookstore on Mulberry Street killed one of the building's residents. Smoke and water damage also devastated Yu & Me Books, destroying almost all its inventory and equipment, according to a GoFundMe campaign that store owner Lucy Yu set up to make up for the costs.
During the restoration and renovation (翻新) of the original bookstore, the business operated from a location within The Market Line, an underground marketplace on the Lower East Side, and several pop-up shops (临时店铺) in the city.
"It was a bookstore I always wanted to visit, and I'm so happy that they were able to reopen," Charlotte Leinbach, a teacher for New York City's Education Department said. Leinbach hadn't been to the bookstore before the fire, but she had heard quite a bit about its fate. She bought two books, the second and third in the series Before the Coffee Gets Cold.
"It's hard to find a lot of books written in Japanese, and then translated into English," she said. "The design of the bookstore is really nice, and the layout is great. I am glad that they also sell used books. I love buying new books because it's fresh and it's nice, but it's always nice to see people in the community giving their books back and reselling and just passing them on." She said she will continue to support the women-run small businesses that focus on people and authors of color.
"I actually came on the day of the opening, but there were too many people, and it was too crowded, so I just haven't had a chance to look at it," Liam Li, another Asian American, said. "This place is unique. It's in Chinatown. As Asians live in New York City, I feel this offers the most space for the community. I understand like a minority in this society, it is not easy to have a store like this," she added.
1. Which word can replace the underlined one "inventory" in Paragraph 2?A.Curtains. | B.Switches. | C.Goods. | D.Chairs. |
A.By applying to the government for money. |
B.By getting money from an insurance company. |
C.By raising money from her friends and relatives. |
D.By collecting money from a fund on the Internet. |
A.She often gave a hand to the store owner before the fire. |
B.She sang high praise for the arrangement of the store. |
C.She prefers to buy used books rather than new ones. |
D.She translates books as her part-time job. |
A.Chinatown bookstore's reopening welcomed |
B.Smoke and water damage destroy Chinatown bookstore |
C.Yu &. Me Books-first female-owned Asian American bookshop in NYC |
D.Chinatown bookstore in New York City means a lot to Asian Americans |
4 . In the eyes of many environmentalists, the world appears to be getting worse. They believe, the natural resources are running out and the air and water are becoming ever more polluted. But if we check the facts, things look different. Energy has become more abundant, not less so. Fewer people are starving. What seems to cause this gap between perception and reality?
One factor is the prejudice in scientific research. Scientific funding goes mainly to areas with many problems. That may be wise policy, but it will also create an impression that there are more potential problems than actually exist.
Secondly, environmental groups seek attention from the mass media. They also need to get continuous financial support. Understandably, perhaps, they sometimes exaggerate (夸大) their arguments. In 1997, for example, the World Wide Fund for Nature issued a statement titled: “Two thirds of the world’s forests lost forever”. The truth turns out to be near 20%.
The media can add to confusion too. People tend to be more curious about bad news than good. Newspapers and broadcasters are there to provide what the public wants. That, however, can lead to significant misinterpretations. For example, when a natural disaster happens, the media usually highlights the negative parts, giving more attention to the disaster’s details and what happens afterward. This flood of bad news can make people think that such events are more frequent or serious than they actually are. Consequently, people may develop a sense of insecurity, despite statistically low probabilities of similar events happening to them.
Another factor is people’s poor perception. People worry that vaccines can cause severe side effects or long-term health problems. Despite extensive scientific evidence demonstrating their safety and effectiveness, some individuals remain hesitant due to unfounded fears.
It is crucial that we look at the facts if we want to make the best possible decisions for the future. It may be costly to be overly optimistic – but more costly still to be too pessimistic.
1. What aspect of scientific research does the writer worry about in paragraph 2?A.The need to produce results. | B.The selection of research areas. |
C.The lack of financial support. | D.The desire to solve research problem. |
A.To show how influential the mass media can be. |
B.To show how effective environmental groups can be. |
C.To show how the mass media can help groups raise funds. |
D.To show how environmental groups overstate their claims. |
A.educate readers | B.mislead readers |
C.meet readers’ expectations | D.encourage readers’ feedback |
A.Making decisions based on reality. | B.Balancing optimism and pessimism. |
C.Being optimistic to avoid costly mistakes. | D.Addressing the environmental crisis gradually. |
5 . Spanish class scared me in the freshman year. I knew little Spanish before starting the class, and I thought it would be
Before the exam, Mary often asked us to
Mary was
Mary’s
A.exciting | B.easy | C.boring | D.beneficial |
A.variation | B.disturbance | C.annoyance | D.inconvenience |
A.explain | B.describe | C.prepare | D.review |
A.challenged | B.enjoyed | C.trusted | D.developed |
A.experience | B.time | C.losses | D.mistakes |
A.seriously | B.roughly | C.modestly | D.curiously |
A.amused | B.respected | C.judged | D.spotted |
A.understanding | B.humble | C.athletic | D.courageous |
A.discouraged | B.suspected | C.heartened | D.comforted |
A.stand out | B.reach out | C.get around | D.get by |
A.passive | B.conventional | C.voluntary | D.innovative |
A.fear | B.sorrow | C.anger | D.confusion |
A.know | B.match | C.enhance | D.assess |
A.secure | B.supportive | C.economic | D.competitive |
A.pity | B.profit | C.debate | D.desire |
6 . Mei Lum is the fifth-generation owner of Wing on Wo & Co. in Manhattan’s Chinatown.
For Lum, the oldest-running business in Manhattan’s Chinatown sees the neighbourhood growing larger and larger and is an informal living room where she came of age. In the store on Mott Street, she shared meals with her family, took Chinese lessons with her grandparents and helped clean the store as a young girl.
Wing on Wo was started in the 1890s. In the early days, Wing on Wo was a general store that mainly sold dried fish and canned (罐装的) goods. It was also an informal post office. When Lum’s grandmother, Nancy, took over in 1965, she decided to focus on porcelain (瓷器) specifically. Its heyday (全盛时期) was the late 70s to the late 80s. A lot of the goods came from Hong Kong, where Lum’s grandfather grew up.
In 2016, her grandmother planned to sell the porcelain specialty shop and its building. Lum, who was preparing to study international relations at Columbia University, decided to take over the store — not only to preserve (保护) its cultural value, but to create a community centre.
“I see the store as a place for conversation for Asian Americans. They want to learn about family history and tradition, and are curious about their cultural identity. I want them to learn about their identity through our porcelain,” Lum said.
Wing on Wo has remained a family business from its founding. Lum’s father, Gary, has been manning the counter (柜台) for the past 30 years. Her mother, Lorraine, processes orders and manages the website. Even her grandmother helps out with some work in the store.
The pandemic pushed Lum to start learning how to run an online store. She’s also added a lot of new activities, including youth programs, an artist residency and a ceramicist fair, to ensure that in addition to preserving tradition, the business is shaping the future of Chinatown.
1. What did the store mean to Lum according to paragraph 2?A.It gave her a chance to help her neighbours. |
B.It played an important role in her childhood. |
C.It helped her to develop a money-saving lifestyle. |
D.It had a great influence on her choice of university. |
A.She sold Wing on Wo. | B.She opened a new general store. |
C.She began selling only porcelain in the store. | D.She changed the store into a porcelain factory. |
A.To collect money for her college education. |
B.To learn business skills from her grandmother. |
C.To encourage young people to start a family business. |
D.To provide a historical connection for Asian Americans. |
A.Responsible and forward-looking. | B.Humorous and hard-working. |
C.Creative and honest. | D.Kind and patient. |
In an age of rapidly growing urbanization, rooftop farming has emerged as a sustainable response
Rooftop farming, also
As urban populations continue to grow, rooftop farming fosters community engagement
A.is in control of | B.is engaged in | C.is exposed to | D.is composed of |
A.In comparison with | B.Aside from | C.In particular | D.On behalf of |