I once had a friend that was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and the news that he might only live up to six months was a great shock to him, his family, and his friends. However, in spite of the serious illness, he was initially determined to look into all available treatments that might cure or extend his life. I think that when you find yourself in such situations, you tend to look up every possible way for hope of saving your life.
As months went on and his health grew worse, I noticed an unexpected change in attitude that came over him. He had also been a happy person with a cheerful personality, but rather than give in to discouragement and self-pity, he took comfort in God and humanity. His talks focused on others rather than himself, and he spoke of the afterlife as something he was prepared for, believing that his concerned ancestors, including his mother and father, were there waiting for him.
During the last few months, weeks, and days of his life, he was kindly cared for by family, friends, his loving wife, who looked after both his physical and emotional needs, and workers from a local hospice (安养院) came to the home to regulate his medication and provide any other needed support. He didn't complain about his fate, and he willingly allowed others to serve him.
Indeed, one might think why God allows death and suffering in our world, but for me, such experiences taught me to value family more and kindness for others. You often can't learn these important attributes in the lap of luxury, and perhaps, such an experience is the greatest and final gift the illness can give those left behind.What did the man do after he first learned of his illness?
| A．He was operated on immediately. |
| B．He retired from his job. |
| C．He researched cancer treatments. |
| D．He felt sad, doing nothing. |
What was the man's main source of comfort after several months with the disease?
| A．His family and friends. | B．His belief in humanity. |
| C．His doctors’ encouragement. | D．The care from others. |
What did the author learn from his friend’s story?
| A．Giving more respect to friends. |
| B．Extending life as possible. |
| C．Caring for yourself and enjoying luxury. |
| D．Getting comfort from God. |
What does the author mainly want to tell?
| A．All people will face death, and thus, we must prepare for it spiritually. |
| B．Our characters can be strengthened by such an unpleasant situation. |
| C．Families provide the best support system during such a crisis. |
| D．People should help those who have got serious illness. |
Homemade Ice Cream in a Bag
Difficulty: Very Easy
Average User Rating:★★★★☆(4.3/5)
Milk can become homemade ice cream in five minutes by using a bag! This homemade, creamy treat is a summertime delight for your kids and you alike.
What you’ll need:
1 tablespoon of sugar; 1/2 cup of milk; 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla (香草香精); 6 tablespoons of rock salt; 1 small-sized plastic food storage bag; 1 gallon-sized plastic food storage bag; ice cubes.
How to make it:
l Fill the large bag half full of ice, and add the rock salt. Seal the bag.
l Put milk, vanilla, and sugar into the small bag, and seal it.
l Place the small bag inside the large one, and seal it again carefully.
l Shake until the mixture turns into ice cream, which takes about five minutes.
l Wipe the top of the small bag, and then open it carefully. Enjoy!
Tips:
1/2 cup of milk will make about one spoon of ice cream, so double the recipe if you want more. But don’t increase the amount more than that—a large amount might be too big for kids to pick up because the ice itself is heavy.
Here is another version of the homemade ice cream recipe from another parent!
These are the homemade ice cream ingredients:
1/4 teaspoon of vanilla butter and nuts; 1 tablespoon of sugar; 1/2 cup of milk.
These are the other supplies:
Plastic sandwich bag; 12 salt pellets; 1 dish of ice; large plastic bag.
Put the ice cream ingredients in the small bag, and then put the bag, salt and ice in the big bag. Hold the bag shut and move it around on the floor for about 5 minutes.
When I made ice cream at home last time, although the salt pellets didn’t really dissolve (溶解) that well, I still got ice cream. It was not smooth ice cream, probably because of the low-fat milk. It was incredible that it could be ready in 5 minutes (not counting preparing the ingredients)
Next, I changed the recipe, using a tablespoon of cocoa, a tablespoon of sugar, and a cup of milk. It was a bit too chocolaty, but good!The underlined “that” in “Tips” section refers to ____.
| A．1/2 cup of milk | B．1 cup of milk |
| C．1 spoon of ice cream | D．2 spoons of ice cream |
Which of the following things is NOT included in both recipes?
| A．Sugar | B．Ice | C．Plastic bag | D．Nuts |
Which of the following statements about the second parent is TRUE?
| A．He/ She doesn’t agree with the first parent. |
| B．He/ She doesn’t think five minutes is enough |
| C．He/ She doesn’t like cocoa better than nuts. |
| D．He/ She doesn’t think the chocolaty tastes bad. |
One evening I went out and left my 17-year-old son in charge of his 8-year-old brother and 4-year-old sister. On this occasion, the task was made less troublesome by the presence of his girlfriend. I left with complete confidence that the older children would do a wonderful job of babysitting the younger children and the younger children would do a wonderful job of accompanying the older ones. Later, I discovered that complete confidence was the last thing I should have left home with.
I had decided to return home earlier than planned so that my son and his girlfriend could go out. I called home with this happy news. But instead of hearing his cheerful, grateful voice on the other end of the line, all I heard was the sound of a telephone ringing.
It was, I should point out, after 10 p.m., when the two younger children should have been in bed, and when the two older children should have been answering the phone. “I’ll give him a lesson,” I said. I decided they must be outside. Why they might be outside at 10:30 on a wintry night I had no idea, but it was the only explanation I could come up with.
Finally, in desperation, I called his girlfriend’s house. After what seemed like countless rings, his girlfriend answered. “Yes,” she said brightly, “He’s right here.”
He came on the phone. I was not my usual calm, rational self. After all, one of the rules of survival for modern parents is that you can’t trust modern teenagers. “Where are the children?” I said. He said they were with him. They had done nothing wrong. My son had taken the younger children over to his girlfriend’s house just for ice cream and cake. This was too favorable to be believed. Well, it turned out that I shouldn’t have believed it. It was only part of the truth.
The following Saturday evening we were at my parents’ home, celebrating my birthday. My oldest son gave me the children’s gifts. Mounted(裱装) and framed were a series of lovely color photographs of my children, dressed in their best clothes, and wearing their most wonderful expressions. They are pictures to treasure a lifetime, all taken by the father of my son’s girlfriend.
That was the most precious gift of all.Shortly after the author left home one evening, she discovered that ____.
| A．her son had brought his girlfriend home |
| B．the father of her son’s girlfriend had come to her home to take photos of the children |
| C．she shouldn’t have completely trusted her son |
| D．she should have taken the children along with her |
According to Paragraph 3, “it” means ____.
| A．the two younger children have been in bed |
| B．the older children have been answering the phone |
| C．the author will give her older son a lesson |
| D．the older son has gone outside with his girlfriend |
The sentence “It was only part of the truth.” (Para. 5) implies that the children not only enjoyed ice-cream but also ____.
| A．had a birthday party | B．framed some photographs |
| C．had their pictures taken | D．showed off their best clothes |
Which of the following possible titles best expresses the main idea of this passage?
| A．Puppy Love | B．Brotherhood |
| C．Mother and Children | D．A Precious Birthday Gift |
A new generation addiction is quickly spreading all over the world. Weboholism（醉心于网络）, a twentieth century disease, affects people from different ages. They surf the net, use e-mail and speak in chat rooms. They spend many hours on the computer, and it becomes a compulsive habit. They cannot stop, and it affects their lives.
Ten years ago, no one thought that using computers could become compulsive（强迫性的）behavior that could affect the social and physical life of computer users. This obsessive behavior has affected teenagers and college students. They are likely to log on computers and spend long hours at different websites.
They become hooked on computers and gradually their social and school life is affected by this situation. They spend all free time surfing and don’t concentrate on homework, so this addiction influences their grades and success at schools. Because they can find everything on the websites, they hang out there. Moreover, this addiction to websites influences their social life.
They spend more time in front of computers than with their friends. The relation with their friends changes. The virtual（虚拟的）life becomes more important than their real life. They have a new language that they speak in the chat rooms and it causes cultural changes in society.
Because of the change in their behavior, they begin to isolate（孤立 themselves from the society and live with their virtual friends. They share their emotions and feelings with friends who they have never met in their life. Although they feel confident on the computer, they are not confident with real live friends they have known all their life. It is a problem for the future. This addictive behavior is beginning to affect the whole world.The main idea of the passage is about _______.
| A．the cause of weboholism | B．the advantage of weboholism |
| C．the popularity of weboholism | D．the influence of weboholism |
The underlined work “obsessive” in the second paragraph most probably means “______”.
| A．attractive | B．addictive | C．professional | D．potential |
We can infer from the passage that ________.
| A．weboholism has the greatest effect on teenagers. |
| B．students can hardly balance real and virtual life. |
| C．people are addicted to games on the Internet. |
| D．virtual life is more vivid and attractive anyway. |
Which of the following is NOT true of weboholism?
| A．It contributes to the development of the web. |
| B．The chat room language may change social culture. |
| C．The problem will be getting more and more serious later. |
| D．People addicted to the web often become inactive in real life. |
The author’s attitude towards weboholism is that of being ________.
| A．optimistic | B．positive | C．oppositive | D．acceptable |
Forest guards in western India are using cell phones with ringtones（手机铃声）of cows mooing, goats bleating and roosters crowing to attract leopards （豹）that have wandered into human settlements, officials said on Monday.
The wild cats in the state of Gujarat often get into villages near forests in search of food, say officials, adding that this results in attacks on people. But rather than use methods such as live bait（活诱饵）like goats tied to trees to lure (引诱) the leopards, which then fall into large pits dug by guards, officials say they have found a safer method to trap the cats.
“The moos of a cow, and bleating of a goat from the phone have proved effective to trap leopards,” said D. Vasani, a senior forest official in Gujarat. “This trick works.” Vasani said forest guards have downloaded the sounds of over a dozen animals as ringtones on their mobiles which they attach to speakers and fix behind a cage. They then play the ringtone continuously for up to two hours until the curious leopard appears and moves into the cage looking for its easy meal.
At least five leopards have so far been lured from villages since the new ringtone method was introduced three months ago. The cats have all been released （释放）back into forest areas.
Wildlife activists welcomed the new initiative (新方案) saying that previous methods of trapping the cats using pits often resulted in the animals getting injured. What can be the best title of the passage?
| A．Cell Phones to Hunt Animals | B．Practical Uses of Cell Phones |
| C．Wildlife And New Technology | D．Phone Ringtones to Catch Leopards |
Forest guards in India try to catch leopards mainly because _______.
| A．leopards attack villagers | B．they want leopard fur |
| C．leopards attack animals | D．they have new ringtones |
According to the wildlife activists, the new method is _______.
| A．appreciated because it benefits leopards | B．not good because it may injure animals |
| C．effective because ringtones work | D．not safer than the former one |
We can learn from the passage except that _______.
| A．forest guards don’t mean to hurt the leopards |
| B．forest guards no longer use pits to trap leopards |
| C．forest guards used goats to attract leopards |
| D．recorded animal sound are used to lure leopards |
What will be needed to trap the leopards using the new method?
a. cell phones b. animals c. sounds of animals d. cages e. large pits
| A．abcd | B．bce | C．ade | D．acd |
World top-ranked badminton player Lin Dan said last Friday that he was a better player than Taufik Hidayat in the year of 2006 despite losing the Asian Games single title to the Indonesian Olympic champion.
“I have ranked No.1 in the world for two straight years and I think people can easily come to a conclusion on who is a better player for the whole year,” said Lin Dan, also known as Super Dan in the badminton world because of his marvelous performance in the sport.
Hidayat beat Lin 21-15, 22-20 to give Indonesia its second gold medal in Doha on December 9, retaining his Asian Games singles title and avenging(报仇) two losses to the badminton world champion.
Lin, 23, led China to the men’s team title after defeating Hidayat twice in three days, in the preliminary round and in the semifinals of the Asian Games.
In their third meeting, Lin came up against a better-prepared Hidayat than he had encountered previously.
Hidayat was cheered on by the noisy support from dancing and flag-waving Indonesian fans, who had converted the badminton arena into a national celebration even before the two players stepped onto the court.
There’s been a lot of acrimony(言语的刻毒) between Hidayat and Lin, who this year won the single title in the world championships after former champion Hidayat crashed out in the quarterfinals.
In Doha, Hidayat was quoted as calling Lin “arrogant” before the event began, but the two stars played down the rift (a situation where two people dislike each other).
“It’s no problem, we’re close friends,” said Hidayat. “The media fabricated it.”
Lin said last Friday in Beijing that he and Hidayat remain friends despite all the rumors（谣言）.
“There is no problem between Taufik and me although we don’t talk to each other very much,” said Lin. “Media tends to make up things in order to make their stories juicy.”What does the underlined word “fabricated” mean?
| A．made up | B．reported | C．discovered | D．found out |
What is the relationship between the two players like?
| A．They are only opponents. |
| B．Lin looks down upon Hidayat. |
| C．They both think they are friends. |
| D．The media has worsened the relationship between them. |
Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
| A．Lin beat Hidayat in all the games of 2006. |
| B．Lin won the single title in the world championships in 2006. |
| C．Indonesian fans held a national celebration after the two players stepped onto the court. |
| D．Hidayat beat Lin 21-15, 22-20 to give Indonesia its first gold medal in Doha on the ninth of December |
This passage implies that ________.
| A．Hidayat was in a better prepared condition than Lin in the Asian Games |
| B．Lin helped to win the men’s team title in the Asian Games of 2006 |
| C．Both of them are the best badminton players in the world |
| D．Media tends to make up rumors |
What is the best title for this passage?
| A．Opponents Become Good Friends |
| B．True Friendship |
| C．World Top-ranked Badminton Players |
| D．Who Is a Better Player? |
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