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The Sahara Festival is a celebration of the very recent past. The threeday event is not fixed to the same dates each year, but generally takes place in November or December. It is well attended by tourists, but even better attended by locals.
During the opening ceremonies, after the official greetings from the government leaders, people who attend the festival begin to march smartly before the viewing stands, and white camels transport their riders across the stands. Horsemen from different nations display their beautiful clothes and their fine horsemanship. One following another, groups of musicians and dancers from all over the Sahara take their turn to show off their wonderful culture. Groups of men in blue and yellow play horns and best drums as they dance in different designs. On their knees in the sand, a group of women in long dark dresses dance with their hair：their long, dark, shiny hair is thrown back and forth in the wind to the rhythm of their dance.
The local and visiting Indian dogs are anxious to run after hares. The crowd is on its feet for the camel races. Camels and riders run far into the distance, and then return to the finish line in front of the cheering people.
Towards the evening, there comes the grand finale of the opening day, an extremely exciting horserace. All the riders run very fast on horseback. Some riders hang off the side of their saddles. Some even ride upside down—heir legs and feet straight up in the air—all at full speed. Others rush down the course together, men arm in arm, on different horses. On and on they went. So fast and so wonderful!The Sahara Festival is a festival which________.
| A．has a very long history in North Africa |
| B．is held in the same place on the same day |
| C．is attended mainly by the people in the Sahara |
| D．is celebrated mostly by travelers from different countries |
Before the races begin, ________take part in the activities during the opening ceremonies________.
| A．musicians, dancers, horses and hares |
| B．camel riders, musicians, dogs and hares |
| C．horseman, dancers, camels and dogs |
| D．musicians, officials, camels and horses |
The underlined word“finale”in the fourth paragraph most probably means the________of the opening day.
| A．first part |
| B．middle |
| C．last part |
| D．whole |
This passage mainly tells readers________.
| A．what happens on the opening day of the Sahara Festival |
| B．how people celebrate during the threeday Sahara Festival |
| C．what takes place at the closing ceremonies of the Sahara Festival |
| D．how animals race on the first and the last days of the Sahara Festival |
Welcome to our homepage!
We've teamed up with two travel agencies to give members of our club the chance to win a holiday to the South of France or one to the Maldives.
The winner and their three guests will enjoy a seven-night getaway (逃离) at the Villa Le Priotlet — a centuries old stone villa (别墅) set on the banks of the Dordogne River. This property has been lovingly restored and furnished, and is ideal for small families to relax surrounded by peaceful views and gentle countryside. The beautiful gardens surrounding the property are full of seasonal treats for you to pick and enjoy, including figs, pears and grapes. The property is also situated just 15 minutes from the UNESCO World Heritage site of Saint-Emilion, which has been producing some of the world's best wine since Roman times.
We'll also give another lucky member a seven-night stay for two people on their island tour to the Maldives. With white sand beaches, coconut trees and blue warm seas, the Maldives is a must-see destination. Accompanied by a local guide, guests have the chance to combine island life with cultural activities, as well as experiencing all those things for which the Maldives are famous: diving and snorkeling (潜水) and relaxation. The guesthouse accommodation is handpicked (精选) to provide a balance of comfort, good service and local atmosphere.
To enter this competition, click on "enter competition" in the information box below.The free holiday in France includes ______.
| A．accommodation at an ancient villa |
| B．fresh fruit, vegetables and meat |
| C．the best French wine |
| D．admission to Saint-Emilion |
What can people do in the Madives if they win the holiday there?
| A．They can enjoy countryside views. |
| B．They can adventure some water sports. |
| C．They can stay at a guesthouse on the beach. |
| D．They can visit local families to experience island life. |
Where can we find the text?
| A．In a guidebook. | B．In a brochure. |
| C．On a website. | D．In a magazine. |
If the hackings (黑客行为) taught us anything in 2014, it's actually nothing.
Password management firm SplashData released its list of the worst passwords of the year and it's just as terrible as you'd think. The most common leaked password in 2014 was "123456," followed by "password" — both topped the list the year before, too.
While numbers were as popular as ever as passwords, sports terms like “baseball" and "football" were used more often. Birthday years were common too (especially 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1992) and names like "Michael", "Jennifer" and "Hunter" are also among the top 100 worst passwords of 2014.
Here's a look at the top 10 worst passwords of the year:
1. 123456 (Unchanged from 2013) 6. 234567890 (Unchanged)
2. password (Unchanged) 7. baseball (New)
3. 12345 (Up 17) 8. dragon (New)
4. 12345678 (Down 1) 9. football (New)
5. qwerty (Down 1) 10. monkey (New)
This year's worst passwords are painfully weak, but what were once considered clever password strategies — using symbols, capitalizations, the number 3 in place of the letter "e" — are old tricks.
It's now recommended to pick a different password for each account you use — you wouldn't use the same key in all of your locks, and the same goes for passwords.
Companies like Facebook, Twitter and Apple are now trying to make hacking more difficult on their services by offering two-factor authentication (认证), which is basically like double locking your door at night. Each time you want to log into (登录) that account, the company will send a code to your phone — it changes after each login attempt, so hackers would have to be in physical possession of your smartphone to know the code.What can we learn from the text?
| A．Hackers leaked many more passwords in 2014. |
| B．Symbols were among the top 10 worst passwords. |
| C．123456 was the most common leaked password in both 2013 and 2014. |
| D．People are getting more experienced in picking their passwords. |
How many passwords were ranked lower on 2014's top 10 worst password list?
| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
What is recommended in the text to have safer passwords?
| A．Using long and strange passwords. |
| B．Changing passwords regularly. |
| C．Replacing "e" by "3" when setting passwords. |
| D．Choosing different passwords for different accounts. |
To fight against hacking, some companies ______.
| A．don't accept weak passwords |
| B．double lock their doors at night |
| C．combine the password with a code to prove one's identity |
| D．prevent hackers from stealing customers' smartphones |
There's a great article in the New York Times this week about the tradition of buying a coffee for a stranger at the same time that you buy your own. They call it caffè sospeso, the name for "suspended (暂留的) coffee" in its birthplace. In some cafes, folks in need may claim a suspended coffee and drink it without cost.
No doubt the free coffee will be welcomed by people who love coffee but for one reason or another don't have the money to buy one. But I also like the opportunity it offers customers to become philanthropists (慈善家). Every time they order a coffee, they can give one to somebody in need.
This is a tradition that began some 100 years ago in Naples, Italy. In Naples, as reported by the Times, people love this kind of giving:
"To me, the philosophy of the suspended coffee is that you are happy today, and you give a coffee to the world, as a present." — Luigi Solito
"It's a simple act of generosity: an act in which donors and recipients (接受者) never meet each other. The donor doesn't show off and the recipient doesn't have to show gratitude." —Laura Cozzolino
"Coffee consumptions started earlier than the unification (统一) of Italy by more than 200 years, so the traditions around it are very ancient. In Naples, coffee is a world in itself, both culturally and socially." — Andrea Illy
The practice of buying suspended coffees has grown in popularity — with websites popping up and hundreds of cafes from Canada to Brazil to Hungary to the US offering the service.Who are suspended coffees intended for?
A. Cafe goers.
B. People who can't afford a coffee.
B. Philanthropists.
D. Coffee lovers who live in Naples.How can someone get a suspended coffee?
| A．He can ask for one in any cafe. |
| B．He can apply for one on websites. |
| C．He can buy one in a cafe offering the service. |
| D．He can drink one in a cafe that has prepaid coffees. |
What does Laura Cozzolino think of buying suspended coffees?
| A．She thinks it is a great way of charity. |
| B．She thinks it is a cheap gift to strangers. |
| C．She thinks it is an ancient Italian custom. |
| D．She thinks it is spreading widely in the world. |
The underlined words in Paragraph 1 are words of ______.
| A．French | B．Old English |
| C．Italian | D．American English |
I’ve just got to talk about this problem I’m having with my postman. It all began a year ago, after the birth of his first child. Not wanting to appear rude, I asked him about the baby. The next week, not wanting him to think I had asked out of mere politeness the week before, I asked all about the baby again. Now I can’t break the habit. I freeze whenever I see him coming. The words “How’s the baby?” come out on their own. It holds me up. It holds him up. So why can’t I stop it? The answer is that I want him to like me. Come to think of it, I want everyone to like me.
My sister had the same problem with the caretaker of her block of flats: “All he ever does is complain; he talks at me rather than to me, never listens to a word I say, and yet for some reason I’m always really nice to him. I’m worried in case I have a difficulty one day, and he won’t lift a finger to help.”
What about at work? Richard Lawton, a management trainer, warns: “Those managers who are actually liked by most of their staff are always those to whom being liked is not the primary goal. The qualities that make managers popular are being honest with staff, treating them as human beings and observing common politeness like saying hello in the morning.” To explain the point, Richard mentions the story of the company chairman who desperately wanted to be liked and who, after making one of his managers fired, said with moist (湿润的) eyes that he was so, so sorry the man was leaving. The employee replied: “If you were that sorry, I wouldn’t be leaving.” The lesson being, therefore, that if you try too hard to be liked, people won’t like you.
The experts say it all starts in childhood. “If children feel they can only get love from their parents by being good,” says Zelda West-Meads, a marriage guidance consultant, “they develop low self-confidence and become compulsive givers.” But is there anything wrong in being a giver, the world not being exactly short of takers? Anne Cousins believes there is. “There is a point at which giving becomes unhealthy,” she says. “It comes when you do things for others but feel bad about it.”
I am now trying hard to say to people “I feel uncomfortable about saying this, but…” and tell myself “Refusal of a request does not mean rejection of a person” and I find I can say almost anything to almost anyone.Why does the author ask the postman about his baby?
| A．He is interested in the baby. |
| B．He wants to create a good impression. |
| C．He wants to be always polite to him. |
| D．It’s a way to start a chat with great politeness. |
What could we find out about the author’s sister and the caretaker?
| A．She doesn’t want to risk displeasing him. |
| B．She doesn’t pay attention to him. |
| C．He often refuses to help her. |
| D．He is impatient of her overreaction. |
Managers are more likely to be popular if they ______.
| A．help the staff with their problems |
| B．make sure the staff do not lose their jobs |
| C．encourage the staff to be polite to each other |
| D．do not make too much effort to be liked |
The underlined words, “compulsive givers”, in the fourth paragraph refer to the people who ______.
| A．are willing to help others |
| B．couldn’t bear to turn down requests |
| C．are unconfident of denying demands |
| D．are less selfish than takers |
What is the author’s intention of writing this passage?
| A．To show how to let others like you more. |
| B．To prove how to create a harmonious atmosphere. |
| C．To encourage people to have more self-confidence. |
| D．To suggest ways of dealing with difficult people. |
When it came to role models, Diana Ortiz said her mother, Marcia Dominguez, was the “hero”. Ms. Dominguez came to the United States from Cuba in 1979. She went to college and got a job as a social worker --- all the while raising three children in America mostly on her own.
“It was always school first,” Diana said, “My mom had us in a straight line. If we got out of line, she corrected us. She was a perfect woman. She was beautiful, she had the education and she had everything --- but the illness took over. When I was 11, it frightened me to see how quickly my mother’s health was ruined by cancer. A week before I turned 14, my mother died at age 50. I had tried to prepare myself, but on the first morning I woke up without my mother, the sense of loss was painful.”
Diana had not seen her father for five years, who refused to provide for her. Diana then entered the city’s foster care system. She has spent about four years in foster homes.
Despite Diana’s hard teenage years, the values her mother had planted in her mind inspired her to go after higher education. Since August 2010, she has been a fulltime student majoring in law. A public organization offers her tuition but she has part-time jobs to help people like her and earn more life experience. Her goal is a job in the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
For now, Diana works 20 hours a week as a cashier at Marshalls, earning $7.25 an hour. In November, she moved into her own public housing studio apartment on the Lower East Side. She pays $236 a month in rent. Although she is out of foster care, Diana has been speaking at workshops for foster youths. She emphasizes that nothing should get in the way of their success, not the trials of their lives or what they may have lost.
“I tell the young who have the similar experience like me, ‘Why are you going to let what happened to you affect you in the long run?’ ” Diana said. “ ‘Why are you going to sit there and feel sorry for yourself? You’re wasting precious time.’ It is a message my mother would approve of. My mom taught me that everything is not given to you. You have to go out and get it.”Which of the following words can be used to describe Ms. Dominguez?
| A．Learned, independent and strict. |
| B．Positive, simple and graceful. |
| C．Hardworking, dependent and tough. |
| D．Kind, determined and lonely. |
What did Ms. Dominguez find most important for her children?
| A．Staying in a straight line for coherence. |
| B．Making punctual self-correction. |
| C．Struggling to run after perfection. |
| D．Receiving excellent education. |
How did Diana grow up after her mother passed away?
| A．She was provided for by a law institute. |
| B．She depended on foster care system. |
| C．She relied upon the people like her. |
| D．She supported herself by doing part-time work. |
What made Diana go on with her education despite there are so many difficulties?
| A．The sense of loss from her mother’s death. |
| B．The eagerness to achieve success. |
| C．The deep influence of her mother’s values. |
| D．The wish to win prizes to please her mother. |
With provided tuition, Diana still works after school because she knows ______.
| A．success comes with her own struggle and efforts |
| B．rich experience helps her find better jobs |
| C．her tuition will be increased sharply |
| D．nobody is perfect in the world |
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