It’s become part of the restaurant table setting: knife, fork, napkin and cell phone.
Distracted (思想不集中的) dining is the new concern with customers constantly texting friends, uploading a Weibo photo of the meal they’re about to chew down or emailing the boss. For many smart-phone users, it’s hard just to focus on the meal and company at hand.
Now, one restaurant in Los Angeles is giving diners a reason to turn off the digital world, by offering customers willing to check (寄存) their phones at the door a 5-percent discount on their bill. Owner and chef Mark Gold of Eva Restaurant, located on Beverly Boulevard near N. Gardner Street, hopes this gives customers a way to truly sit back and relax, enjoy their meal and actually talk with friends and family in person.
“For us, it’s really not about people disturbing other guests. Eva is home, and we want to create that environment of home, and we want people to connect again,” he explained. “It’s about two people sitting together and just connecting, without the distraction of a phone, and we’re trying to create an atmosphere where you come in and really enjoy the experience and the food and the company.”
Gold said applying the suggestion reminds him to avoid cell phone usage, too. “I’m guilty of it as well. When my wife and I go to dinner it seems like the cell phone is part of the table setting now. Every table you look at, it’s a wine glass, the silverware and the cell phone,” he joked.
The husband and wife team runs Eva, a 40-person space with European flair. Gold said a little less than half take advantage of the deal, and no one has gotten upset about it.
“I think once the server approaches the table and they’re presented with the offer, they like the idea of actually talking to each other again,” he said.When having meal in Eva Restaurant, we are not offered on the table.[学,
| A.forks | B.cellphones | C.napkins | D.knives |
Why does Gold think people should not use cellphones at table?
| A.Because it can cause health problems. |
| B.Because it will disturb other customers. |
| C.Because it can get a 5-percent discount on the customers’ bills. |
| D.Because it may prevent people communicating with their companions. |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A.Many people would like to upload a photo of their food before they eat nowadays. |
| B.People are forbidden to use cellphones in Eva Restaurant. |
| C.More than half of the customers in Eva Restaurant have enjoyed the discount. |
| D.People can easily connect with each other anytime without using cellphones. |
What can be the best title of the passage?
| A.No Cellphone at Table! |
| B.Focus on Your Cellphone! |
| C.Eva Restaurant – Home to Customers. |
| D.Talk Face to Face. |
Botany (植物学) , the study of plants, occupies a particular position in the history of human knowledge.For many thousands of years it was the one field of awareness about which humans had anything more than the vaguest (模糊的)) of insights.It is impossible to know today just what our Stone Age ancestors knew about plants, but from what we can observe of pre-industrial societies that still exist, a detailed learning of plants and their properties must be extremely ancient.This is logical.Plants are the basis of the food pyramid for all living things even for other plants.They have always been enormously important to the welfare of people not only for food but also for clothing, tools, medicines, shelter, and a great many other purposes.Tribes living today in the jungle of the Amazon recognize hundreds of plants and know many properties of each.To them, botany has no name and is probably not even recognized as a special branch of "knowledge" at all.
Unfortunately, the more industrialized we become, the farther away we move from direct contact with plants, and the less distinct our knowledge grows.Yet everyone comes unconsciously on an amazing amount of botanical knowledge, and few people will fail to recognize a rose or an apple.When nor Neolithic ancestors, living in the Middle East about 10,000 years ago, discovered that certain grasses could be harvested and their seeds planted for richer fields the next season—the first, great step in a new association of plants and humans was taken.Grains were discovered and from them flowed the wonder of agriculture: cultivated crops.From then on, humans would increasingly take their living from the controlled production of a few plants, rather than getting a little here and a little there from many varieties that grew wild, and the accumulated knowledge of tens of thousands of years of experience with plants in the wild would begin to fade away.What does the writer mean when he says "This is logical" in the first paragraph?
| A.Human knowledge of plants is well organized and very detailed. |
| B.It is not surprising that early humans had a detailed knowledge of plants. |
| C.There is no clear way to determine the extent of our ancestor's knowledge of plant. |
| D.It is reasonable to assume our ancestors behave much like people in pre-industrial societies. |
According to the passage, general knowledge of botany begun to fade away because ____.
| A.people no longer value plants as a useful resource |
| B.direct contact with a variety of plants has decreased |
| C.botany is not recognized as a special branch of science |
| D.research is unable to keep up with the increasing number of plants |
We learn that the first great step toward the practice of agriculture is____.
| A.the changing diets of early humans |
| B.the development of a system of names for plants |
| C.the invention of agricultural implements (工具) and machinery |
| D.the discovery of certain grasses that could be harvested and replanted |
Human would depend on the controlled production of a few plants for living with
| A.the knowledge of plants |
| B.the discovery of certain grasses |
| C.the development of machinery |
| D.the appearance of agriculture |
In an age dominated (控制的) by new media and the Internet, there are so many alternative ways of learning.Gone are the days when, if we couldn't make it into a classroom, the only real option was to pick up a book, or when audio materials consisted of bad quality cassettes or sporadic(时有时无的) radio and TV programmes.With the appearance of broadband access to the web, we have a whole new learning domain (统领) at our fingertips.Sophisticated learning materials in the form of text or high-quality audio are now available at the touch of a button, and tests and assignments can be submitted (进行) and marked online.Questions and learning, studying away from the classroom has never seemed easier.Yet many teachers would argue that face-to-face contact between teachers and students is an essential part of the language learning experience.Enter the concept of blended (融合的) learning, an approach to education which seeks to combine the best of new technology and actual human contact.
Advocates of blended learning argue that an approach to study which combines the benefits of new technology with the best aspects of face-to-face (often abbreviated to F2F) teaching, will achieve better results.For example, there are some aspects of study, like practical sessions, dealing with more subjective questions, or meeting the needs of an individual student, which require face-to-face human interaction, whereas the more mechanical aspects of learning, such as answers to clear-cut questions, can be managed simply and effectively in a remote environment using new technology.
Blended learning approaches have proven especially appropriate in language learning.For example, in an ELT (English Language Teaching ) environment, a simple scenario (剧情概要) might be a classroom session where a teacher asks a group of students to use a wiki to create a text. Students then go away and compose and edit the text remotely.During the next F2F session, the teacher express his opinion about their work.What is the main idea of this passage?
| A.Blended learning is an effective learning approach. |
| B.More and more people will use Internet-based learning materials, |
| C.There are so many different ways of learning for people to choose in today's world. |
| D.Blended learning methods have proven to be effective except in language learning. |
Which of the following aspects of study doesn't require face-to-face interaction between teachers and students?
| A.Practical sessions. |
| B.Tackling the needs of an individual student. |
| C.Dealing with more subjective questions. |
| D.Providing answers to clear-cut questions. |
It can be inferred from the passage that ______.
| A.the radio and TV in the past were of poor quality |
| B.people do not get audio materials through cassettes nowadays |
| C.it was not convenient for people to leam outside a classroom in the past |
| D.it was difficult to find a classroom with good learning conditions in the old days |
Which of the following can be best describe the writer's attitude towards blended learning?
| A.Critical. | B.Objective (客观的) . |
| C.Supportive. | D.Neutral (中立的) . |

Where can we most probably read this text?
| A.In a newspaper. | B.In a magazine. |
| C.In traveling guide. | D.In a history textbook. |
The business hours of Cook's Cottage on Saturday in the summer are _____?
| A.11:00 am—2:00 pm | B.5:00 pm—10:30 pm |
| C.9:00 am—5:30 pm | D.9:00 am—5:00 pm. |
The Anchorage Restaurant is ____.
| A.in Williamstown | B.in the center of the city |
| C.in Anchorage | D.in Port Philip Bay |
Where can you spend the night in a tour?
| A.Cook's Cottage. | B.Sovereign Hill. |
| C.Sydney Tower. | D.Westfield Counterpoint. |
I'm fat, I'm too skinny.I'd be happy if I were taller, shorter, had curly hair, straight hair, a smaller nose, bigger muscles, longer legs.
Do any of these statements sound familiar? Are you used to putting yourself down? If so, you' re not alone.As a teen, you're going through many changes in your body.And as your body changes, so does your image of yourself.Lots of people have trouble adjusting, and this can affect their self-esteem (自尊) .
If you have a positive body image, you probably like and accept yourself the way you are.This healthy attitude allows you to explore other aspects of growing up, such as developing good friendships, growing more independent from your parents, and challenging yourself physically and mentally.Developing these parts of yourself can help boost (提升) yourself-esteem.
A positive attitude and a healthy lifestyle (such as exercising and eating right) are a great combination for building good self-esteem.
Some people think they need to change how they look or act to feel good about themselves. But actually all you need to do is change the way you see your body and how you think about yourself.
The first thing to do is recognize that your body is your own, no matter what shape, size or color it comes in.If you are very worried about your weight or size, check with your doctor to verify (核实) that things are OK.But it is no one's business but your own what your body is like—ultimately, you have to be happy with yourself.
Next, identify which aspects of your appearance you can realistically change and which you can't.Everyone has things about themselves that they can't change and need to accept—like their height, for example, or their shoe size.
When you hear negative comments coming from within yourself, tell yourself to stop.Try building your self-esteem by giving yourself three good things every day.By focusing on the good things you do and the positive aspects of your life, you can change how you feel about yourself.
The most important thing is to get help if you feel like your body image and self-esteem are affecting your life.If we have a positive body image, we will_____.
| A.concentrate on our body image only |
| B.not develop strong self-esteem |
| C.like and accept ourselves as we are |
| D.be less independent of our parents |
______ can NOT help to boost your self-esteem.
| A.Growing independent from your parents |
| B.Accepting your own body as it actually is |
| C.Having a positive attitude and a healthy lifestyle |
| D.Improving your body image as much as you can |
To improve our body image, we have to _____.
| A.think about ourselves |
| B.be happy with ourselves |
| C.change the shape, size or color of one's body |
| D.check with our doctor to verify that our body is OK |
Which is probably the best title of the passage?
| A.Importance of Body Image | B.Effects on a Person's Self-esteem |
| C.Tips for Improving Body Image | D.Self-esteem and Body Image |
Will it matter if you don’t take your breakfast?
Recently a test was given in the United States. Those tested included people of different ages, from 12 to 83. During the experiment, these people were given all kinds of breakfasts, and sometimes they got no breakfast at all. Special tests were set up to see how well their bodies worked when they had eaten a certain kind of breakfast. The results show that if a person eats a proper breakfast, he or she will work with better effect than if he or she has no breakfast.
This fact appears to be especially true if a person works with his brains, if a student eats fruit, eggs, bread and milk before going to school, he will learn more quickly and listen with more attention in class. Opposite to what many people believe, if you don’t eat breakfast, you will not lose weight. This is because people become so hungry at noon that they eat too much for lunch, and end up gaining weight instead of losing. You will probably lose more weight if you reduce your other meals.The results of the test show that ______
| A.breakfast has great effect on work and studies. |
| B.breakfast has much to do with people’s health. |
| C.a person will work better if he has simple breakfast |
| D.breakfast only affects those who work with their brains . |
According to the passage, many people think that if you don’t eat breakfast, you will____.
| A.do your work badly | B.eat too much for lunch |
| C.gain weight | D.lose weight |
We can infer from the passage that _____
| A.one can work better with breakfast. |
| B.morning diet will do good to your health. |
| C.reducing lunch and supper will help lose weight. |
| D.breakfast is more important than lunch and supper. |