1 . On today’s blog post, I’ll be talking about my favorite magazines. I love reading books & magazines, and I’m learning so many useful tips about healthy living, daily life, etc.
Women’s Health
Women’s Health has a unique content. You can find various interesting information about healthy living or exercises you can do at home. I also love their writers because they explain every topic so simple that you can even understand biological articles.
Healthy Food Guide
I totally recommend it to everyone because it has lots of useful information about being healthy during your daily life. In this magazine, you can find articles about foods you often eat but don’t have much idea what it contains or if they’re healthy. If you are searching for new diets, this magazine gives you all the information.
Time Out
Time Out is a well-known magazine and it’s free in my city. Every time I see a Time Out magazine, I get it because it has lots of useful tips. I got Time Out London when I was in London, and I discovered new restaurants, galleries, museums, and events. This magazine has various information about the city life. For example, it gives you the events that are happening near you. It gives you tips for the railway stations and other transportation choices.
La Cucina Italiana
If you love cooking Italian food, this magazine is for you! It has lots of recipes and also restaurant reviews. You can also find popular restaurants near you in this magazine. I’ve also read articles by famous chefs from my city.
1. What can we find in Healthy Food Guide?| A．Ways to keep fit. | B．Tips on cooking. |
| C．Different eating habits. | D．Information of new restaurants. |
| A．Time Out. | B．Women’s Health. | C．Healthy Food Guide. | D．La Cucina Italiana. |
| A．He lives in London. | B．He loves and enjoys life. |
| C．He often goes travelling. | D．He likes collecting recipes. |
1. Why do lights grow closer to the little house?
| A．The city is becoming larger. |
| B．Villagers use better lamps. |
| C．People come to visit the village. |
| A．The natural scenery. | B．The life in a big city. | C．The visitors to the village. |
| A．Having a tour. | B．Giving a lecture. | C．Selling a book. |
3 . The Nobel Literature Prizes are awarded to the persons who shall have produced in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction. The followings are some famous female winners in recent years.
Louise Glück
The Nobel Prize winner in Literature 2020. Childhood, family life, relationships and death are frequent themes in her collections. Gluck seeks out the universal. The rich English-language poetry tradition is her primary literary source of inspiration. Glück’s language is free of poetic formalities and she often uses daily spoken language.
Alice Munro
The Nobel Prize winner in Literature 2013. Alice Munro has devoted her literary career mostly to short stories. The underlying themes of her work are often relationship problems and moral conflicts. The relationship between memory and reality is another frequent theme she uses to create tension. She is able to demonstrate the impact that seemingly small events can have on a person’s life.
Herta Müller
The Nobel Prize winner in Literature 2009. Her works are rooted in her experiences as one of Romania’s German-speaking racial minority. Müller describes how dictatorship (独裁) causes a fear and sense of distance that stays in an individual’s mind. With precise language, she recalls images from the past.
Svetlana Alexievich
She won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2015. Svetlana Alexievich represents life during and after the Soviet Union through the experience of individuals. Personal experiences have been an important part for her works. She uses interviews to create a picture of a wide range of voices. With her “ documentary novels ” , Alexievich moves in the boundary between reporting and fiction.
1. Whose works does a student loving poems probably read?| A．Louise Glück. | B．Alice Munro. |
| C．Herta Müller. | D．Svetlana Alexievich. |
| A．Writing short stories. | B．Describing significant events. |
| C．Balancing memory and reality. | D．Dealing with relationship problems. |
| A．The language style is precise. |
| B．They have similar backgrounds. |
| C．They are rooted in people’s real life experiences. |
| D．The focus is the relationship between individuals. |
4 . Every year, Barnes & Noble picks the 10 best books of the year, covering all genres and age groups. If you’re looking for an amazing book to grab before the end of 2021, here are some of the best books of the year.
Cloud Cuckoo Land
This novel is both a historical and futuristic science fiction story that connects five characters across hundreds of years through their relationship to a book: “Cloud Cuckoo Land.” The book they find is about a shepherd named Aethon, who longs to be turned into a bird, so he can live a carefree life forever. As each character finds this book, from a l5th century kid to a young teen on a futuristic interstellar ship, their stories meet in this complex yet fascinating read.
Crying in H Mart
When Michelle Zauner was 25, her mother s cancer changed her life forever and forced her to accept her Korean American identity in a desperate attempt to stay connected to her mother. As a talented musician, Michelle had previously been divorced from her cultural roots, but quickly turned to food to keep her mother's memory alive in this powerful and heartbreaking memoir.
Pony
It is a historical, middle-grade adventure novel intended for adolescents. It talks about a 12-year-old boy named Silas who is woken in the middle of the night to see his father being taken away by three horsemen. With only his horse named Pony by his side, Silas sets off on a life-changing mission to find his father.
You Will Get Through This Night
It is a nonfiction read about mental health that offers both a personal and professional outlook on how to survive the hardest mental health days. Dividing the book into three chapters — This Night, Tomorrow, and The Days After — Daniel Howell wants readers to not just survive the hard nights but properly care for our mental health.
1. What do Cloud Cuckoo Land and Pony have in common?| A．Plot. | B．Literary form. | C．Characters. | D．Writing background. |
| A．Cloud Cuckoo Land. | B．Crying in H Mart. |
| C．Pony. | D．You Will Get Through This Night. |
| A．It is about psychological health. | B．It helps cure physical disabilities. |
| C．It is a collection of personal stories. | D．It mainly solves sleeping problems. |
5 . In what has become an annual tradition, the staff of National Public Radio bring you a mighty year-end guide of Books We Love. Here are a handful of the most interesting picks. We hope you enjoy the selections and take time to look through for a while!
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
Michelle Zauner lays out the complexity and the ongoing sorrow of losing a parent in her 20s, just as her own life is about to start. Zauner writes about how she turned to Korean food to process her sadness when her mother, her only tie to Korean culture, died of cancer. The book reflects on how cooking and eating the food that her mom once prepared gives her a way to connect to her identity.
Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado
Crystal Maldonado creates a much-needed believable character with teenage and adult readers. Charlie Vega is fat and wears glasses, with a diet-pushing mother and a beautiful, athletic best friend. When her classmate Brian pursues a romantic relationship, Charlie is bothered with self doubt. The book, which tells a well-observed story of fat teenage life, is developed by internal (内在的) and external (外在的) conflicts.
The Most Fun Thing: Dispatches (快讯) from a Skateboard Life by Kyle Beachy
The year 2021 was the year of skateboarding, which has been transformed into an Olympic sport. And many have picked up skateboards for the first time, so The Most Fun Thing couldn’t have come at a better time. Kyle Beachy, a longtime skater and writing professor, is devoted to exploring the meaning of skateboarding based on related essays of a decade.
The Secret History of Home Economics by Danielle Dreilinger
It’s generally thought that home economics is just a class taken at school, which is appropriately named Mrs Housekeeper. But in reading this book, you can discover that in the early 20th century, the field provided jobs for women in science, companies and governments. Danielle Dreilinger also makes the case that cooking and managing a budget are invaluable lessons for all children and should still be school courses.
1. What is Charlie Vega like?| A．Romantic. | B．Unconfident. | C．Smart. | D．Dishonest. |
| A．Michelle Zauner. | B．Crystal Maldonado. | C．Kyle Beachy. | D．Danielle Dreilinger. |
| A．They both involve the topic of cookery. |
| B．They both mention the bond with parents. |
| C．They both state how to survive economic hardship. |
| D．They both stress the necessity of ensuring women’s rights. |
6 . It's the most wonderful time of the year! The winter holidays are the perfect chance to get comfortable with a good book, and luckily we have some best sellers right now. We're sure you'll find what you're looking for.
Sunday Funday by Katherine Hallgan
Hardback, $20 (10 percent off with membership)
A great book full of seasonal activities that families and friends can enjoy together. From gardening projects to creative hand-made things and warming winter recipes (食谱), there's something for everyone, whatever the weather.
The History of the World in 100 Animals by Simon Barnes
Hardback, $16.99
This beautifully pictured book explores the good relationship between humans and animals, from bees to chimpanzees (黑猩猩) who share more than 90% of our DNA. If you are crazy about animals, this is the book for you.
Accidentally Famous by David Baddiel
Paperback, $12.99
Nothing amazing ever happens to Billy Smith but when TV workers visit his school he becomes popular, but as everyone knows, being famous comes with a price. David Baddiel's laugh-out-loud book asks what life would be like if everyone suddenly knew your name.
Eddie Albert and the Animal Gang by Paul O'Grady
Paperback, $15
This action-filled adventure from TV favourite Paul O'Grady follows a young boy with a very special gift—he can talk to animals! On a trip to Amsterdam, Eddie meets a monkey in danger and rescues the young creature with the help of his animal friends.
1. What is the member price for Sunday Funday?| A．$20. | B．$19. | C．$18. | D．$10. |
| A．Sunday Funday. | B．Eddie Albert and the Animal Cang. |
| C．Accidentally Famous. | D．The History of the World in 100 Animals. |
| A．They are published in hardback. | B．They stress harmony with animals. |
| C．They are full of beautiful pictures. | D．They speak of famous TV persons. |
7 . On Feb. 19, the same day Harper Lee passed away, the world lost another literary giant. He was 84-year-old Umberto Eco, an Italian writer, whose masterpiece The Name of the Rose won him international fame when it was published in 1980. The novel sold more than 10 million copies in about 30 languages and was made into a movie in 1986 starring British actor Sean Connery.
A USA Today obituary (讣告) thus describes: “Eco was an author of books ranging from novels to scholarly books to essay collections; Eco was enthusiastic about the obscure as well as ordinary daily life; As a scholar, critic and novelist, he also did research on the mysterious theory of semiotics-the study of signs and symbols in language and the technical languages of the Internet.
The Name of the Rose can be seen as a much more complicated version of US writer Dan Brown’s popular novel The Da Vinci Code. The book is set in a 14th century Italian Monastery (修道院) where monks are being murdered one by one in terrible manners. Two monks who travel to the monastery try to solve the murders. The book’s mystery develops around a complex-designed library and a lost Aristotle’s book on comedy.
Although the novel is full of Latin phrases and devotes many pages to analysis of Christian beliefs and ancient philosophy, it’s a fascinating detective thriller.
Eco also wrote some harsh literary criticism. He once wrote that “books always speak of other books, and every story tells a story that has already been told”.
1. What can we learn about The Name of the Rose?| A．It earned Harper Lee worldwide reputation. |
| B．It featured the main character Sean Connery. |
| C．It was translated into no more than 30 versions. |
| D．It had its film adaptation following the book’s publication. |
| A．Eco not only wrote novels but also some dramas. |
| B．Eco was merely interested in ordinary daily life. |
| C．Eco was an expert in the Internet. |
| D．Eco was more than a novelist. |
| A．A story copied from the novel The Da Vinci Code. |
| B．Chain murdering in an Italian Monastery. |
| C．A long-lost ownerless book. |
| D．A complex-designed library. |
| A．Stories are far from reality. | B．Creativity is hard to come by. |
| C．Some books are well worth reading. | D．Writers need to polish their language. |
8 . From human bias (偏见) to the science of breathing, and the wonderful world of mushrooms, here are four page-turners for science lovers. The four books delve into a wonderfully wide range of topics, covering breathing, mystery illnesses, bias, and even the magical world of mushrooms. Read on to find out why they're four of the most interesting non-fiction books of the year 2021!
Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor
How conscious are you of your own breathing? Reading this could change that forever, offering facts on our breathing, and how even the smallest of changes can have great health benefits.
The End of Bias: How We Change Our Minds by Jessica Nordell
Journalist and author Jessica Nordell looks at unconscious bias, weaving fascinating stories and offering real-life solutions to some problems in our own society. From issues within the police force to how we teach children under five, this book will leave you with a whole new outlook on how to tackle the issue of bias.
The Sleeping Beauties: And Other Stories of Mystery Illness by Suzanne O' Sullivan
Two cases look at children who fall asleep for years at a time and many employees experiencing memory loss at the US Embassy in Cuba. O'Sullivan travels the world to get to the bottom of these strange incidents.
Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds by Merlin Sheldrake
You've probably never given much thought to mushrooms, but biologist Merlin Sheldrake makes this exploration into the world of fungi feel like reading a science fiction novel. The book takes you on a literal deep dive under the Earth's surface, within our own bodies and even into outer space to discover a massively diverse kingdom of organisms, which sustain nearly all living things.
1. Which topic is mentioned in these books?| A．Common diseases. | B．The exploration of mushrooms. |
| C．Breathing illnesses. | D．Science and magics. |
| A．It is written by James Nestor. | B．It is related to conscious bias. |
| C．It tells us how to teach children under six. | D．It refers to how to deal with bias in our society. |
| A．To advertise these books. | B．To tell readers how to buy these books. |
| C．To tell readers how to read these books. | D．To give a brief introduction of these books. |
9 . Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is a name that every lover of English literature will always remember and cherish. He is the pen father of the extraordinary detective Sherlock Holmes and a number of detective stories.
Arthur chose to go to medical field and become a surgeon from the University of Edinburgh, and this is the place where Arthur met a person who influenced him to become a writer. It was one of his teachers Dr. Joseph Bell who was master at observation, logic, detection and diagnosis. All these qualities were later found in the character of the celebrated detective Sherlock Holmes.
1888 was a significant year that rocketed Doyle to fame with his novel which was named as ‘A Study in Scarlet’ in which he introduced his two immortal characters—Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. The story ‘The Sign of Four’ was instrumental in establishing Sherlock Holmes and Arthur Conan Doyle in literature.
The writer tried to open a practice in Paris but not a single patient came to him, which proved to be a blessing in disguise. It gave him a lot of time to think. And it was here that he met an illustrator named Sydney Paget who created the image of Sherlock Holmes which captured the minds of the readers and made the detective famous all over.
Doyle’s next creation was the delightfully violent Professor Challenger. ‘The Lost World’ which involved Professor Challenger was an immediate success.
Finally, because of his wife’s illness, Doyle decided to devote his life to his previous work rather than writing. This was the time when he decided to end the stories of Sherlock Holmes, which he did in ‘The Final Problem’.
The great Arthur Conan Doyle died at the age of 71 in 1930. He has left a legacy (遗产) to last us a lifetime and is still alive through his books and stories.
1. What was Conan Doyle’s job in his early years?| A．A writer. | B．A doctor. | C．A detective. | D．A professor. |
| A．By inspiring him to create Holmes. |
| B．By advising him to go to Paris. |
| C．By encouraging him to be a surgeon. |
| D．By teaching him the art of writing. |
| A．The Lost World. | B．The Sign of Four. | C．A Study in Scarlet. | D．The Final Problem. |
| A．Practice makes perfect. | B．Facts speak louder than words. |
| C．Failure is the mother of success. | D．Behind bad luck comes good luck. |
10 . “The Life of Pi” is about a teenage boy from India, called Pi, who travels across the Pacific Ocean in a lifeboat. His companion (同伴) in the lifeboat is an enormous tiger. It was written by the Canadian author Yann Martel, and has sold seven million copies worldwide.
At the start of the book, we learn about Pi's childhood in India. His father is a zookeeper and the family live in a house in the zoo. Pi and his brother help their father in the zoo and learn to look after the animals. When Pi is sixteen, his family decide to close the zoo and move to Canada. They sell some of the animals to zoos in North America and the family take the animals with them on a ship to Canada. On the way, there is a terrible storm and the ship sinks. Sadly, Pi's family and the ship's sailors die in the storm. Pi finds himself in a lifeboat with a hyena, zebra, orangutan and a tiger. When he sees the animals, Pi is scared and he jumps into the ocean. Then he remembers there are sharks in the ocean and he climbs back into the lifeboat. One by one, the animals in the lifeboat kill and eat each other, till only Pi and the tiger are left alive. Luckily for Pi, there is some food and water on the lifeboat, but he soon needs to start catching fish. He feeds the fish to the tiger to stop it killing and eating him. He also uses a whistle and his knowledge of animals from the zoo to control the tiger.
Pi and the tiger spend 227 days in the lifeboat. They live through terrible storms and are burnt by the Pacific sun. They are often hungry and ill. Sometimes, Pi is happy and hopeful, but sometimes he feels sad and lonely. Finally, they arrive at the coast of Mexico, but you will have to read the book to find out what happens in the end!
1. What is the purpose of the text?| A．To tell us a story. | B．To introduce a book. |
| C．To make an advertisement. | D．To introduce a film. |
| A．They don't want to leave them in India. |
| B．They want to make them a home on the ship. |
| C．They don't want to sell the animals to others. |
| D．They take them along to their new owner. |
| A．They meet a storm and only Pi survives. |
| B．The tiger kills Pi's family and the sailors. |
| C．Pi finds a lifeboat and saves all the animals. |
| D．Pi lives peacefully with the animals. |
| A．Kind, honest and helpful. | B．Weak, selfish and careless. |
| C．Playful, naughty and energetic. | D．Clever, brave and strong minded. |
