Archaeologists believe they are on the turning point of throwing light on the life of William Shakespeare — by excavating （发掘） what may have been the playwright’s dust hole．
Experts have begun excavating the ruins of New Place
, Shakespeare’s former home in Stratford-upon-Avon, which was destroyed 250 years ago．Although little r
emains of the property, the team, led by Birmingham Archaeology, believes it has identified a dust hole used by the 16th century poet．
Small pieces of pottery （陶瓷） and broken clay pipe have already been found from a muddy hole on the site, which they claim could yield some of the most significant discoveries about Shakespeare in decades．The dig focuses on three areas of the property, which Shakespeare bought in 1597 when he returned to his home town from London having achieved fame — including the so-called knot garden at the back of the building．
Dr Diana Owen, Director of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, which owns the site, said, “We do not know if the knot garden was an area used by Shakespeare — it may have been a yard simply used by his servants．But this could actually yield some fantastic results, especially if it was an area where rubbish was thrown or the dust hole was located．”
Kevin Colls, from Birmingham Archaeology, added, “Through documentary evidence we know Shakespeare lived at New Place but we have very little information regarding the layout （布局） of the house and gardens at this time．Through archaeological fieldwork, in particular the dig of structural remains and the recovery of artefacts, we hope to fill in the blanks．”
Until October, visitors will be able to watch archaeologists and volunteers at work as they excavate the remains of the house, which was knocked down in 1759．Experts hope to unearth evidence to support theories that Shakespeare wrote many of his most famous works at the property．
1．This excavation intends to ______．
A．know something about the playwright’s dust hole
B．search for some treasure in the dust hole
C．explore the life of William Shakespeare
D．find something that Shakespeare lost
2．New Place was destroy
ed in the ______ century．
A．15th B．16th C．17th D．18th
3．Small pieces of pottery and broken clay pipe on the site ______．
A．could show Shakespeare’s luxurious life
B．could lead to important discoveries about Shakespeare
C．could show us that Shakespeare lived at New Place
D．could prove when New Place was knocked down
4．The underlined phrase “the blanks” in Paragraph 5 refers to ______．
A．the ruins of New Place
B．the smallest pieces of broken pottery
C．three areas of the property
D．the layout of the house and gardens of New Place
5．What can we learn from the text?
A．Shakespeare used to live at New Place．
B．Shakespeare became famous after 1597．
C．Only his servants used the knot garden．
D．Dr Diana Owen owns Shakespeare’s property．
For years, I thought that my mother would become a Centenarian (百岁老人) , but after 98 years and eight months, she recently died of old age. As it was with my father, her funeral took place in the most peaceful setting of the countryside of rural Washington County. Even after my father died, we continued to think of our parents as one. They were a team in the traditional sense. Church and family were their life- lines. They worked hard, never complaining. They expected to earn their daily bread by the sweat of their brow.
Once during a conversation with Tom Brokaw, who wrote the best- selling hook The Greatest Generation, I told him, "You left out my parents." They didn’t go off to war, but they belonged to the Greatest Generation. They, too, were part of the foundation that made America truly great. They kept the home fires burning.
Our mother gloried in being a housewife and mother. Having been a teacher in her early adult years, when education was more important than anything else, she gave up her job to raise a family .She was an excellent cook, but she had to cook on a wood stove. There was no refrigerator, nothing electric. But nobody was ever better at making do. In addition to all the household chores and responsibilities, she went to the fields every day to help produce a crop to pay the rent and to provide for the family. She and my dad worked hard to save every penny possible.
They saved ever7 penny to buy a farm late in life. They also saved enough money to live out their respective live with home care without taking up residency in a nursing home. They were fiercely independent. If you had suggested they accept a government transfer payment, they would have spit in your eye.Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
| A．Mother played a great pan in the family. |
| B．Mother died at the age of 98 years old. |
| C．Mother was buried by the side of father. |
| D．Mother survived father by many years. |
The underlined part "one" in the passage means____ .
| A．parent | B．Centenarian |
| C．hero | D．entirety |
What do we know about Tom Brokaw?
| A．He is one of the author's parents' friends. |
| B．He likes talking with the author's parents. |
| C．He takes up a position as a writer. |
| D．He is good at managing a home. |
How does the author find his parents?
| A．Brave and hardworking. |
| B．Modest and warmhearted. |
| C．Economical and independent. |
| D．Respective and satisfied. |
When you get a job interview, it is the chance that you impress them employer and prove you really are the right person for the job. The following key points may he the important steps you can take to ensure you make a good impression from the get-go
Be Prepared
Research the company thoroughly before the job interview. Read through the company website to gain a thorough understanding of what“ does its values, clients or audience and any technologies it uses. You should also Google the company and read any press releases. Note important issues or points you can discuss at the interview. Take copies of the job description with you to the interview. Don't he afraid of showing off, you can bet the other candidates won't be holding back!
Interview Questions
All this preparation work will go a long way to helping you for questions you might be asked during the interview. As well as preparing for the standard questions, you also need to come up with relevant questions to ask the interviewer about the company and your role. You may want to ask something along the lines of "what's it like to work here?",
“what are the career prospects l like?"
Timekeeping
Plan your route in advance and make a dry run to the interview location a few days beforehand to make sure you're clear on where you're going. Print out directions and maps from sites like Google Maps and make sure you should he there without any problems
After the Interview
If you're unsuccessful, use it as an opportunity to improve. Ask for feedback from the interviewer. This will improve your future interview success chances; the interviewer might consider you for future vacancies at the company based on this action aloneWhat should you do at a job interview?
| A．Recognize who is the right employer |
| B．Have a good impression of the employer |
| C．Find a chance to show your talent off |
| D．Impress the employer with good behavior. |
Which question can you ask the interview?
| A．What interests you when you work? |
| B．What is the information about your clients? |
| C．What is the promising future of the company? |
| D．What advice will you offer to the interviewees? |
It can be inferred form the passage that____.
| A．the interviewer can help you through the back door |
| B．a polite attitude can help you find a way out |
| C．it is impossible to get a job at the first interview |
| D．it is important to keep cautious about an interview |
Doctors have a new weapon in the battle against obesity (过度肥胖) — a talking plate that tells people not to eat too quickly. The Mandometer monitors the amount of food leaving the plate, and tells users, “Please eat more slowly.”
The ￡1,500 Swedish device is to be used in a National Health Service plan to help hundreds of obese families lose weight. It comes in two parts — a scale placed under the plate and a small computer screen showing a graphic（图表） of the food gradually disappearing as the user eats. A red line on the screen shows the user’s eating speed, while a blue line shows a healthy rate. If the user eats too fast, the red line angles away from the blue one, warning him or her to ease off. If the lines deviate (偏离) too much, the computer voice comes on, and the screen flashes the message “Are you feeling full yet?” to remind users to think about whether they have had enough.
Britain has an increasingly serious obesity problem, with one in four adults and one in seven children classed as obese. After a recent trial using the device, experts believe teaching obese people to eat more slowly will help them know when they are full. Around 600 families with at least one obese parent and child (aged five or older) were targeted in the project by Bristol University, along with GPs and nurses.
Professor Julian Hamilton-Shield, who is leading the plan, says obese children and adolescents using the Mandometer ate from 12 to 15 percent less per meal at the end of the 12-month trial. Six months after they stopped using the device they still ate less, and continued to lose weight. “It will be a powerful tool to help families retrain their eating habits,” he says. What does the red line on the screen show?
| A．A healthy rate of eating. | B．Too much food is left. |
| C．The user’s eating speed. | D．The user is full. |
What can we infer from the text?
| A．The device can help obese people form good eating habits. |
| B．Every family will have such a device soon. |
| C．This device is the best way to lose weight. |
| D．People will no longer worry about obesity. |
The underlined phrase ease off is closest in meaning to ______.
| A．to become less tense | B．to eat more slowly |
| C．to remove gently and slowly | D．to stop |
Which of the following is TRUE, according to the text?
| A．25% of children are obese in Britain. |
| B．One in seven adults is obese in Britain. |
| C．Children using the Mandometer ate less after the trial. |
| D．Six months after the trial, obese people are still eating a lot. |
My grandfather spent most of his life in a turbulent (动乱的) India. After settling in New York, he took up his true passion: gardening.
Grandfather’s garden was where I took refuge (避难) from a world of adults and schoolwork. My grandfather cultivated squash (南瓜) and tomatoes — it was not rare to find me somewhere in the garden, either secretly eating a tomato, or just sitting and admiring my grandfather’s hard work. However, as time went by, I did not have the chance to visit his house as often as I used to.
On my eleventh birthday, I received a gift bag wrapped in pretty paper from my grandfather. Excited to see what he had given to me for my birthday, I tore apart the paper only to find a yellow squash. I was very angry. What a stupid present!
But gradually, I realized that in my developing a relationship with his garden, I had unknowingly grown very close to my grandfather himself, something he wished to remind me of through his gift. His commitment towards doing things definitely influenced me. It could bring him a sense of accomplishment. Because of him, I try to model the idea of approaching everything with both drive and passion.
My grandfather passed away five years ago, but his influence on me could not be bigger than it is today. As I prepare to enter college and move on from my relatively sheltered high school life toward achieving complete independence, allowing my passions to find their way into whatever I may be doing will be very necessary. I still look up to my grandfather very much to this day, and I hope that one day I will be able to sow in my own garden, and give someone else a squash on his or her birthday — it was the most meaningful gift I have ever received. When the author was young, she often visited the garden mainly to ______.
| A．have a taste of her favorite vegetables |
| B．help her grandfather cultivate the garden |
| C．escape from the adults and schoolwork |
| D．admire her grandfather’s hard work |
When the author saw the squash gift from her grandfather, she was ______.
| A．excited | B．confused |
| C．curious | D．upset |
Why did the grandfather send the author a squash?
| A．Squash was the author’s favorite vegetable. |
| B．Squash was the greatest achievement of him. |
| C．He wanted to remind the author that they had been close. |
| D．He wanted the author to follow his career. |
What’s the best title for the text?
| A．A Special Gift — Yellow Squash |
| B．Grandfather and India |
| C．Life with Grandfather |
| D．Gardening and Life |
We grew up with the familiar toy bricks (积木) that gave us the imagination to build towers and castles. Generations have been attracted by this toy that lets children and adults alike create anything and everything. But with over 200 millions sets being sold a year in over 100 countries, the question remains — where did Lego actually come from?
Lego was born from the creative mind of Danish carpenter (木匠), Ole Kirk Christiansen, back in the early 1930s. He established a small business in Denmark. He and his team built a variety of household goods like ironing boards along with wooden toys. The Lego name was adopted in 1934, formed from the Danish words “Leg Godt” or “play well”, which means “I study” or “I put together” in Latin.
Christiansen’s company continued to make wooden toys until 1942 when fire struck — the entire Lego factory burned to the ground. Unwilling to give in, the factory was rebuilt and the production line restarted soon after. By 1954, Christiansen’s son, Godtfred, had become the junior managing director of the Lego Group. It was during his conversation with an overseas buyer that he was struck by the idea of a toy system.
For over 30 years, the Lego Company made only toys and related goods. Then, in 1968, the company opened its first Legoland in Denmark. Combining the Lego building bricks with a computer, the Robotics Invention System 1.5 is now the most advanced toy in the Lego Company, which is targeted at users aged twelve and above, and that includes any parents or grandparents that want to join in.
Now the Lego Company is expanding its production lines to include lights, cameras and so on. Lego Company has done a lot to entertain many children around the world. The author presents the text by ________.
| A．telling an interesting story |
| B．showing the process in different stages |
| C．introducing a practical method |
| D．describing many different activities |
Which of the following is NOT true about the Robotics Invention System 1.5?
| A．It is the most advanced toy in the Lego Company. |
| B．It combines the Lego building bricks with a computer. |
| C．It is intended for users aged twelve and above. |
| D．It is the most expensive toy invented since 1968. |
What is the correct order of the following events in the development of Lego?
a. The entire Lego factory burned to the ground.
b. The company and its products adopted the name Lego.
c. The company opened its first Legoland in Denmark.
d. Godtfred had become the junior managing director of the Lego Group.
| A．cadb | B．cbad | C．abcd | D．badc |
What can we learn from the text?
| A．The Lego Company expands its production lines with computers. |
| B．The author thinks highly of Lego, which entertains many children. |
| C．The name Lego means “I put together” in the Danish language. |
| D．Lego enjoys the greatest popularity among children of 12. |