It's not a new phenomenon, but have you noticed how many nouns are being used as verbs? We all use them, often without noticing what we're doing.
I was arranging to meet someone for dinner last week, and I said “I’ll pencil it in my diary”, but my friend said “You can ink it in”, meaning that it was a firm arrangement not a tentative one!
Many of these new verbs are linked to new technology. An obvious example is the word fax. We all got used to sending and receiving faxes, and then soon started talking about faxing something and promising we'd fax it immediately. Then along came email and we were soon all emailing each other madly. How did we live without it? I can hardly imagine life without my daily emails.
Email reminds me, of course, of my computer and its software, which has produced another couple of new verbs. On my computer I can bookmark those pages from the World Wide Web that I think I'll want to look at again, thus saving all the effort of remembering their addresses and calling them up from scratch. I can do the same thing on my PC, but there I don't bookmark; I favorite—coming from “favorite pages”, so the verb comes from an adjective not a noun.
Now my children bought me a mobile phone, known simply as a mobile and I had to learn yet more new verbs. I can message someone, that is, I can leave a message for them on their phone. Or I can text them, write a few words suggesting when and where to meet, for example. How long will it be before I can mobile them, that is, phone them using my mobile? I haven’t heard that verb yet, but I’m sure I will soon. Perhaps I’ ll start using it myself! “I’ll pencil it in my diary” in the second paragraph probably means “____________”.
| A．it was a firm arrangement |
| B．he prefers a pencil to a pen |
| C．the arrangement should be written as a diary |
| D．it was an uncertain arrangement |
A website address can be easily found if it has been ____________.
| A．favorited | B．messaged | C．emailed | D．texted |
Which of the following has not been used as a verb yet?
| A．message | B．mobile | C．email | D．fax |
The best title for this passage is____________.
| A．How to use verbs |
| B．Development of the English language |
| C．Origins of verbs |
| D．New Verbs from Nouns |
Every morning, kids from a local high school are working hard. They are making and selling special coffee at a coffee cafe. They are also making a lot of money. These students can make up to twelve hundred dollars a day. They are selling their special coffee to airplane passengers. After the students get paid, the rest of the money goes to helping a local youth project.
These high school students use a space in the Oakland airport. It is usually very crowded. Many people who fly on the planes like to drink the special coffee. One customer thinks that the coffee costs a lot but it is good and worth it. Most customers are pleasant but some are unhappy. They do not like it if the coffee cafe is not open for business.
The students earn ﹩6.10 an hour plus tips. They also get school credit(学分) while they learn how to run a business. Many of the students enjoy the work although it took some time to learn how to do it. They have to learn how to steam milk, load the pots, and add flavor. It takes some skill and sometimes mistakes are made. The most common mistake is forgetting to add the coffee. But many students enjoy the job, because they learn a lot experience by serving people. This will benefit them a lot when they enter into society after they finish their school education.The students in the coffee cafe_____________.
| A．are volunteers without being paid |
| B．work in the morning five days a week. |
| C．send coffee on the planes for the passengers. |
| D．contribute some of the earnings to a youth program. |
Some passengers are unhappy because______________.
| A．the special coffee costs too much. |
| B．the kids often forget to add the coffee. |
| C．they can’t be served at some time. |
| D．the coffee cafe was often crowded. |
By working at the cafe, the students can do all of the following EXCEPT__________.
| A．earning pocket money. |
| B．enjoying free flights. |
| C．receiving school credit. |
| D．learning to make coffee. |
How do students think of their job?
| A．Boring | B．Hard | C．Interesting | D．Useful |
BRITAIN is a popular tourist place. But tours of the country have advantages and disadvantages .
ADVANTAGES
Free museums. No charge for good collections of art works.
Pop music. Britain is the only country to rival(与…匹敌)the US on this point.
Cabs. London taxi drivers well know where they are going.
Choice of food. Visitors can find food from every corner of the world .
Fashion. Not only do fashion junkies love deeply and respect highly brand names such as Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen; street styles are justly loved, too.
DISADVANTAGES
Poor service. People can dine out on the rudeness they have experienced,” says Professor Tony Seaton, of Luton University’s International Tourism Research Center.
Poor public transport. Trains and buses are promised to defeat tourists who have the most patience, so the over- crowded London tube is inexplicably(难以理解的) popular.
Rain. Still in the number one complaint.
Overpriced hotels. The only European country with a higher rate of tax on hotel rooms is Denmark.
Drinking hours. Alcohol(酒) is in short supply after 11 pm even in “24-hour cities”.What do tourists complain most?
| A．Poor service. | B．Poor public transport. |
| C．Rain. | D．Overpriced hotels. |
When is alcohol not able to get?
| A．At 9: 00 pm | B．At 10: 00 pm |
| C．At 11: 00 pm | D．At 12: 00 pm |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．You have to pay to visit the museums. |
| B．Only clothing with brand names are sold in London . |
| C．You cannot find Chinese food there. |
| D．The public transport is poor there. |
From Art to Zoo, the Smithsonian, the world's largest museum and research complex, has something to interest kids and students of all ages.
Plan ahead online with The Official Kids Guide to the Smithsonian Institution – an interactive guidebook just for kids.
The Last American Dinosaurs: Discovering a Lost World
November 25, 2014 – 2018
Museum: Natural History Museum
Location: 2nd Floor, West
Explore how we learn about past ecosystems and organisms through the study of their fossils and find what goes into making a large-scale fossil exhibition. Watch fossils being prepared in a working fossil preparation lab.
As We Grow: Traditions, Toys, Games
August 22, 2012 – Indefinitely
Museum: American Indian Museum
Location: 1st Floor, near Imaginations Activity Center
All children play. Native American children play like any others, but their toys and games are more than playthings. They are ways of learning about the lives of grown men and women and ways of learning the traditions of their families and their people. The toys, games, and clothing come from all over North, Central, and South America, representing many tribes and many time periods.
The First Ladies
November 19, 2011 – Indefinitely
Museum: American History Museum
Location: 3rd Floor, Rose Gallery
On view are more than two dozen gowns, including those worn by Michelle Obama, Laura Bush, Barbara Bush, Nancy Reagan, and Jacqueline Kennedy. Four cases provide in-depth looks at Mary Todd Lincoln, Edith Roosevelt, and Lady Bird Johnson and their contributions to their husband's presidential administrations.
Apollo to the Moon
July 1, 1976 – Permanent
Museum: Air and Space Museum
Location: 2nd Floor, East Wing
This gallery traces NASA's manned space program beginning with Project
Mercury's Freedom 7 (1961); then the Gemini Project (1965 – 66); followed by the Apollo Program
(1967 – 1972), with Apollo 17 as the last manned exploration of the moon.The purpose of the text is to ______.
| A．promote some scientific projects |
| B．highlight some children activities |
| C．release some entertainment videos |
| D．introduce some museum exhibitions |
If you are interested in American history and politics, you can go to ______.
| A．the 1st Floor | B．the East Wing |
| C．the Rose Gallery | D．the Natural History Museum |
Which of the following has been on for the longest time?
| A．The First Ladies. |
| B．Apollo to the Moon. |
| C．As We Grow: Traditions, Toys, Games. |
| D．The Last American Dinosaurs: Discovering a Lost World. |
If you visit all the four locations, you can _______.
| A．see gowns once worn by Edith Roosevelt |
| B．help prepare a dinosaur fossil exhibition |
| C．learn about Apollo 17's space exploration |
| D．play with children's toys from Central America |
When Lucy and Maria Aylmer tell people they are twins, disbelief is the response. The 18-year-olds from Gloucester, U.K. are two of the five children born to their Caucasian (白种人的) father and "half-Jamaican" mother. While their other siblings (brothers and sisters) have a blend (混合) of features from their parents who have different skin colours, Lucy and Maria are unique: Lucy has fair skin and red hair, while Maria has brown skin and dark hair.
"No one ever believes we are twins because I am white and Maria is black," Lucy said. "Even when we dress alike, we still don't look like sisters, let alone twins. When we meet friends for the first time they all refuse to believe we are twins and some have even made us produce our birth certificates to prove that we are really twins."
Unlike identical (同卵的) twins, fraternal twins are bom from two separate eggs. The BBC reports that for a biracial (双人种的) couple expecting twins, there is about a 1 in 500 chance those twins will have different skin colors.
The Aylmers are proud of their uniqueness.
"Now we have grown older, even though we still look so different, the bond between us is much stronger," Lucy said. "Now we are proud of the fact that we are each other's twin sister. Maria loves telling people at college that she has a white twin sister — and I'm very proud of having a black twin sister, too."Lucy and Maria are unique because _______.
| A．they are fraternal twins |
| B．their siblings are all black |
| C．they are hybrids of multi-racial parents |
| D．they are twins with different skin colours |
How do people usually react to the twins' physical appearances?
| A．They think it possible. |
| B．They joke about them. |
| C．They find it unbelievable. |
| D．They regard them as lucky dogs. |
What can we learn about Maria from the text?
| A．She comes from Jamaica. |
| B．She was born of biracial parents. |
| C．She bears mainly features other father. |
| D．She shares a birth certificate with her twin sister. |
If your job requires a lot of sitting, you could be putting your health at danger.
The American Journal of Epidemiology (流行病学) did a study in 2010 on the correlation (相互联系) between sitting and an individual's physical health. In the study, 53,440 working men and 69,776 working women were surveyed on their time spent sitting. The subjects were all disease free when employed. The researchers identified 11,307 deaths in men and 7,923 deaths in women during the 14-year follow-up.
The findings: Women who reported sitting for more than six hours per day had an approximately 40 higher all-cause death rate than those who reported less than three hours a day, and men had an approximately 20 higher death rate.
Well, now's a fine time to get this information. But why didn't they tell me this years ago? I would have planned on taking a more active job instead of the sedentary (坐着的) job of an editor.
So what can you do if you have to work for a living at a job that requires a lot of sitting? Here are some ideas:
Take frequent breaks. It is recommended that workers vary activities, change their position, and take short breaks every 20 minutes to rest muscles and increase blood circulation. Get a standing desk. Some studies have shown that working from an upright position may be better for health. The serious fitness people can even purchase a treadmill (跑步机) desk. It only goes about one mile per hour. Have a walking meeting. If your group is kind of small, going for a walk while discussing topics is a good alternative.According to the text, the study in 2010 ______.
| A．found men reporting shorter sitting time than women |
| B．surveyed more men than women on their daily sitting time |
| C．identified fewer deaths in men than in women during the 14-year follow-up |
| D．discovered correlation between sitting and physical health in men and in women |
We can infer from the text that the author did not recommend ______.
| A．using a standing desk | B．resting one's muscles |
| C．quitting sedentary jobs | D．taking a walk while discussing |
What does the underlined word "subjects" in Paragraph 2 mean?
| A．Things being discussed. | B．People being studied. |
| C．Areas of knowledge being learned. | D．Objects being painted. |
What is the main idea of the text?
| A．Your job could be killing you. |
| B．Working out leads to health risks. |
| C．Long-time sitting is positively associated with health. |
| D．A study on sitting time and physical health was completed. |