1. Why does the man congratulate Ava?
A.She saved a sick goose. | B.She finished a new book. | C.She won a competition. |
A.It’s sad. | B.It’s inspiring. | C.It’s funny. |
2 . Pigeons have a bad reputation. Maybe these birds’ familiarity makes them an easy target: They are common residents of every continent, save Antarctica. Some people think pigeons are dirty or diseased, as they spend chunks of their days pecking at trash. Others might ignore them entirely, or perhaps go so far as to call them “rats with wings.” But Rosemary Mosco, a science writer, cartoonist, and naturalist, believes these creatures deserve more respect. “We’ve gotten them super wrong,” she says.
In Mosco’s latest book, A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching, she shares her positive views of the species that fell from grace. Once highly valued for their meat, and way finding abilities, pigeons are now largely rejected by human society. But Mosco, a lifelong city-dweller, has always found them fascinating. “If you do watch them, you’re just entranced,” she says. Her travel-sized book details pigeons’ coloration, field marks, and anatomy (解剖结构). But it’s more than a field guide. It’s also an informative account of pigeon history, biology, and behavior, complete with Mosco’s delightful illustrations.
Because pigeons’ fates are so connected with our own, pigeon history closely mirrors ours. Pigeons were distributed across the globe due to centuries of European exploration and colonization. In North America colonists hunted the native Passenger Pigeon for meat and destroyed its native forest habitat, driving it to extinction. Wherever humans domesticated pigeons, some escaped and went wild. Today’s city pigeons are descended from those birds.
Mosco says she’s met more birders who like pigeons than those who hate them. Birders, with well-developed observation skills, can understand pigeons’ entertaining behavior, she says. Plus, if pigeons aren’t enough of a draw on their own, there could be predators, such as hawks or falcons, nearby.
She wants all her readers to be kind to pigeons. But she also hopes that some will follow their pigeon fancy and become hooked on birding. “It’s my secret plot,” she says. After reading her book, you may agree with her that pigeons are as worthy a spark bird as any other.
1. What do the underlined words “fell from grace” mean in paragraph 2?A.Live in danger. | B.Push the envelope. |
C.Play with fire. | D.Get out of favor. |
A.It covers detailed pigeon science with illustrations. |
B.It shows the author’s views of a particular subject. |
C.It features numerous beautiful images and diverse cultures. |
D.It conveys some views of theories accepted widely. |
A.To learn more about pigeon history and biology. |
B.To be fond of birding and follow their pigeon interest. |
C.To stop hating pigeons and start respecting them more. |
D.To understand pigeons’ behavior and appreciate their beauty. |
A.A chapter of a book. | B.A book introduction. |
C.An animal story. | D.An academic paper. |
3 . For the students, researchers or simple lovers of knowledge and art, it is a privilege to have a free virtual library at hand, being able to download important texts without spending a single dollar.
◆Internet Archive
It is a non-profit digital library created in 1996 by Brewster Kahle. In addition to millions of books available to the general public, it also hosts a large number of video (movies), audio (music) and software files, etc. It is not necessary to register to access the information, so any user can easily view and download it, although those who decide to register obtain other benefits such as access to more than 1.3 million copyrighted e-books.
◆InfoBooks
Read, Learn, Grow… is the slogan of the digital library. It is divided into three sections to facilitate the search for content, and the first called “Best books to read” focuses on a special collection of various topics classified by famous authors. The second is “Free books and texts”, where you will find public domain literature that you can download, and the third section contains resources to improve your reading.
◆Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg is a site that has available sixty thousand “free” books that are free of copyright so to speak, since the rights according to certain laws have expired in this case. That is why they can be downloaded with total peace of mind. The Project Gutenberg also has an Open Audio book Collection, almost 5,000 titles from 2023, via a Project Gutenberg collaboration with Microsoft and MIT. These use neural text-to-speech technology for more natural-sounding computer-generated audio books. These audio books are also available on major music/podcast platforms.
1. What most attracts users to Internet Achive?A.Private software files. |
B.Easy access to plenty of e-books. |
C.Classic music of limited edition. |
D.Various movies of authorized edition. |
A.Search InfoBooks, Section 1 online. |
B.E-mail Brewster Kahle to obtain directly. |
C.Download Software files from Internet Achive. |
D.Wait for distributions from Project Gutenberg. |
A.Audio resources are provided online. |
B.Materials can be adjusted to different users. |
C.Copyrights of some books are out of date. |
D.They provide reading strategies training. |
4 . For a long time, I kept a selection of books on a shelf next to my bed that I called my “heart books”. To qualify for a place on the shelf, a book had to be not only one I loved, but one that mattered. There was one book that never made it onto that shelf, though I read it in high school: Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg.
I can still remember the day I bought it. It was summer and I must have been 14 or 15. Desperate to get out of my house, I rode my bike into town and walked into the bookstore. I was going through the shelf of books on writing and it caught my eye. I picked it up, read a few pages, and bought it. Then I took it with me to a park, read the first few chapters, and opened my notebook to write.
It’s a fairly straightforward writing book. Goldberg’s method is simple: you choose a topic, set a timer, and write for 10, 15, or 20 minutes without picking up your pen. Free writing, timed writing, writing topics: anyone who has taken a creative writing class may have encountered these things. It’s not earth-shattering. There was nothing particularly new or unusual about the book so I can’t say why it attracted me so much. But it changed everything. I went from being someone who enjoyed writing to being a writer.
During my teen years and early twenties, following Goldberg’s method was at the core of my identity. No matter where I was or what I was doing, I filled notebooks. When I eventually started writing fiction, I did the same thing. The “I” in my notebooks became someone else, but I held to the same practice.
This writing practice led me to a writing group in Boston. It led me to my current career. It led me, in so many ways, to myself. Becoming a writer allowed me to become so many other things: an activist, a business owner, a farmer, a baker. . . Writing is where I found my confidence. It was where I became curious about the world. From that, everything else has followed.
1. How did the author encounter Writing Down the Bones?A.By following a selection of “heart books”. |
B.By referring to a book list about writing. |
C.By recommendation of Natalie Goldberg. |
D.By seeking writing books on a bookshelf. |
A.Remarkable. | B.Useful. | C.Controversial. | D.Amusing. |
A.It inspired the author to be a writer. |
B.It was the first novel the author read. |
C.It made the author start to love writing. |
D.It is one of the books the author reads most. |
A.What is the author’s life like right now? |
B.What did the author do in the writing group? |
C.How has the writing practice shaped the author? |
D.Why did the author give up the writing practice? |
1. 写信目的;
2. 给出建议;
3. 表达期望。
注意:
1. 词数100左右;
2. 开头和结尾已为你写好。
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6 . Get A Bird’s-Eye View Of The World’s Most Attractive Feathered Animals With These Books
A World on the Wing
Pulitzer-shortlisted Weidensaul, who’s at the forefront of research into bird migration, here tracks some of nature’s most remarkable journeys. He sails through the stormy Bering Sea, encounters trappers in the Mediterranean and visits former headhunters in northeast India, where a bird migration crisis has become a conservation success story.
Pan Macmillan, £35.
Around the World in 80 Birds
Inspiring secrets, national pride or scientific discoveries, every bird has a story to tell, from the weaver bird building multi-nest “apartment blocks” in Namibia to the bar-headed goose taking on a twice-yearly trans-Himalayan journey at an extreme altitude. Mike Unwin’s tour is accompanied by beautiful illustrations from Ryuto Miyake
Laurence King Publishing, £38
Flamingo
Biologist and photographer Claudio Contreras Koob spent 20 years travelling deep into the wet lands and forests of his native Mexico-and beyond-to feed his flamingo attraction. This book offers a unique window into the behavior and life of red-feathered birds, with more than 120 show-stopping shots displaying their beauty.
teNeues, £28
Galapagos Crusoes: A Year Alone with the Birds
Explore this updated version of the 1968 title, Galapagos Islands of Birds, by late bird expert Bryan Nelson, with previously unpublished material from his wife, June. The couple spent a year living on two Galapagos islands, studying birds, including the Galapagos albatross (信天翁) This is their clever and amusing account.
Bradt Guides, £21.
1. Who illustrates the most expensive book?A.Claudio Contreras Koob. | B.Ryuto Miyake. |
C.Mike Unwin. | D.Weidensaul. |
A.Flamingo. | B.Around the World in 80 Birds. |
C.A World on the Wing. | D.Galapagos Islands of Birds. |
A.It gives a description of birds. | B.It was shortlisted for a prize. |
C.It was written by a biologist. | D.It has updated the content. |
1. 表达感谢;
2. 阅读原著的意义;
3. 邀请他参加线上读书分享会。
注意:
1. 词数100左右;
2. 可以适当增加细节,以使行文连贯;
3. 开头语和结束语已为你写好,不计入总词数。
Dear Charlie,
I’m Li Hua, president of the English-reading Association.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours sincerely,
Li Hua
1)电子书的优势;
2)纸质书的优势;
3)谈谈你的看法。
注意:1)词数:不少于100;
2)可适当加入细节,以使行文连贯。
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
9 . A new study published in the journal Reading and Writing shows that reading is closely related to language skills. The piece was written by Sandra Martin, professor of education, and PhD student Stephanie Kozak. They found that people who enjoyed reading fiction for leisure and who saw themselves as readers scored higher on language tests, while those who read to access specific information scored more poorly on the same tests.
Martin and Kozak used a scale called the Predictors of Leisure Reading (PoLR) to investigate reading behavior. They then examined how well the PoLR predicted the language skills of 200 undergraduate students. The researchers note that the age range of the subjects in the study is of key interest. In early adulthood, reading becomes self-directed rather than compelled by others, which means people can choose to read any book they like. So, this is a key time for developing one’s own reading habits. But there is a general lack of research on this population, with most existing research mainly focusing on children.
The researchers administered(执行)a series of measures. First, the participants completed the 48-question PoLR scale measuring various reading factors, including motivations, obstacles, attitudes and interests. They were then given language tests similar to those found in the SAT and a measure of reading habits called the Author Recognition Test. This test asks participants to select the names of real fiction and non-fiction authors they are familiar with from a long list of real and fake names. Scores on this test are related to both actual reading behavior and verbal abilities: those who scored higher read more and have better verbal abilities than those who scored lower.
After analyzing the data, the researchers concluded that reading enjoyment, positive attitudes and deeply established interests predicted better verbal abilities and that they were more strongly associated with exposure to fiction than non-fiction.
The many benefits of reading have long been established. Besides having better verbal abilities, lifelong readers are known to be more understanding of others, to attain higher socioeconomic status and even to live longer, healthier lives than non-readers. The findings of the study can give teachers and parents some enlightenment(启发). They can promote a love of reading by letting young people read what they want, without guilt or shame.
1. What plays a key role in improving people’s language skills according to the study?A.Their reading speeds. | B.Their reading frequencies. |
C.Their motivations for reading. | D.Their understanding of the content. |
A.Its research method. | B.Its scoring criterion. |
C.Its large sample size. | D.Its selection of subjects. |
A.By analyzing their performance in reading and comprehending a given article. |
B.By asking them to introduce their favorite writers and books in detail. |
C.By letting them choose their familiar authors from a partly real list. |
D.By requesting them to do some SAT language tests. |
A.Setting an example for kids in reading. |
B.Allowing kids to read their favorite books. |
C.Asking kids to make friends with lifelong readers. |
D.Encouraging kids to start reading as early as possible. |
10 . There are literally thousands of books about running, each with their unique stories and angles. Here are four that might interest you.
● Advanced Marathoning – 2nd Edition
by Pete Pfitzinger, Scott Douglas ($38.13)
Shave minutes off your time using the latest in science-based training for serious runners. Advanced Marathoning has all the information you need to train smarter and arrive on the start line ready to run the marathon of your life.
Including marathon-pace runs and tempo runs, Advanced Marathoning provides only the most effective methods of training. You’ll learn how to improve your running workouts with strength, core, flexibility, and form training.
● Determined to Win: The Overcoming Spirit of Jean Driscoll
by Jean Driscoll ($10.99)
Jean Driscoll was named 25th of the top 100 women athletes in the century by Sports Illustrated for Women. Born with spina bifida (脊柱裂), Jean was never supposed to walk. But because of her intense determination, she not only learned to walk but to fly – in a wheelchair across the finish line.
In her autobiography, Jean describes her flight from physical paralysis (瘫痪) to true spiritual freedom. She shows us what perseverance can achieve.
● Boston Marathon Portraits: Pictures of Inspiration
by Raymond Britt ($19.99)
Boston Marathon Portraits features dramatic images of an exceptional race: the Boston Marathon. On race day, Boston comes alive with excitement and determination. This book presents these emotions and the action of the Boston Marathon, focusing on striking scenes and photos of runners before the race, at the starting line, the finish line and when the celebration of finishing begins.
● Women Runners
by Irene Reti, Bettianne Shoney Sien ($11.18)
This selected set of literary fiction, poems, and essays by women runners captures the essence of running, and the many hopes and dreams of women.
1. Which book would be your best choice if you were looking for tips on marathon training?A.Women Runners. |
B.Determined to Win: The Overcoming Spirit of Jean Driscoll. |
C.Boston Marathon Portraits: Pictures of Inspiration. |
D.Advanced Marathoning - 2nd Edition. |
A.Development of marathon. |
B.Effective training methods. |
C.Amazing photos of runners. |
D.Essays written by runners. |
A.A novelist. | B.An editor. |
C.A marathon winner. | D.A photographer. |