Have you ever had an embarrassing experience? Last week we asked readers to tell us about embarrassing experiences. We received thousands of letters! Here is a selection.
Tony:
My most embarrassing experience happened when I had just left university. I had just started teaching in a Liverpool middle school. One morning my alarm clock didn’t ring. I woke up at half past eight and school began at nine. I quickly washed, dressed, jumped into my car and rushed to school. When I arrived, the students had already gone into class. I didn’t go to the office, but went straight into class. After two or three minutes the students began laughing, and I couldn’t understand why! Suddenly I looked down and understood. I had put on one black shoe and one brown shoe!
Henry:
The most embarrassing experience I’ve ever had happened two years ago. After seeing a film, my wife and I had lunch in our favorite restaurant in town. Then we decided to take a walk along the street. The street was very busy and we started holding hands. Suddenly my wife saw a dress that she liked in a shop window, and stopped. I started looking at some watches in the next window. After a minute or two I reached for my wife’s hand. There was a loud scream, and a woman slapped my face. I hadn’t taken my wife’s hand. I’d taken the hand of a complete stranger（陌生人）!Tony arrived at school late that morning because .
| A．he couldn’t find hid shoes | B．his alarm clock didn’t ring |
| C．he washed and dressed slowly | D．his car went wrong on the way |
The students began laughing when they saw Tony .
| A．wearing a wrong shoe | B．his alarm clock didn’t ring |
| C．looking down suddenly | D．rushing into the classroom |
Henry and his wife held hands .
| A．at the cinema | B．in the shop | C．at the restaurant | D．along the street |
What does the underlined word “scream” mean in Chinese?
| A．尖叫声 | B．笑声 | C．哭声 | D．呼救声 |
Henry was embarrassed because he .
| A．slapped the woman in the face |
| B．took the hand of a complete stranger |
| C．heard hid wife screaming in the street |
| D．knocked over some watches in the shops |
Jiaozi， also known as Chinese dumplings， is a must﹣have during holidays in Northern China．It dates back to ancient times．
Jiaozi is one of the most important foods in Chinese New Year．Since jiaozi is in the shape of ancient Chinese gold or silver ingots（银锭）， it symbolizes wealth （象征着财富）． Traditionally， the members of a family get together to make dumplings on New Year's Eve．They may hide a coin in one of the dumplings．The person who finds the coin will be likely to have good luck． As the Spring Festival marks the start of a new year，people choose to eat jiaozi in the hope of having a good future in the coming new year．
Based on your taste， you can make different kinds of Chinese dumplings using different fillings．There is no set rule as to what makes dumpling fillings． They can be anything from vegetables，meat or seafood． Whatever the fillings are， the wrapping （包） skill needs to be exquisite （精美的） to make jiaozi good﹣looking．
As China is a country with a vast territory（幅员辽阔），there are differences in different areas in ways of making jiaozi or even serving it． For example， dumpling wrappers are made with a rolling stick in Beijing and Hebei province， while in some parts of Inner Mongolia， wrappers are hand﹣pressed．
（1）When did Chinese people probably begin to have jiaozi？
（2）What does jiaozi symbolize？
（3）Why do people choose to cat jiaozi on New Year's Eve？
（4）Do people need to follow set rules to make dumpling fillings？
（5）How are dumpling wrappers made in some parts of Inner Mongolia？
Mark Twain once said，"Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today．" The famous writer talked about a problem many of us have． The problem is procrastination （拖延症）． When procrastination becomes a habit， it can make our lives terrible． However， everyone can avoid it by taking a few simple steps today!
✧Make daily "to do" lists．
Before your day ends， make a plan for tomorrow．List upcoming tasks in order of importance．You'll begin each new day with a head start， already knowing what needs to be done．As you complete each task， check it off．（1） ．
Always keep your daily schedule（计划）with you． Use it to remind yourself what you need to do next． You'll then have a much better chance of carrying out your plans．
✧Break large tasks up into small ones．
If a project looks too big，（2） ．The task at hand may seem too great．You may feel defeated （挫败） before beginning． But every project is doable if it's done in small steps．
Begin by breaking up your task into smaller parts． This helps remove the unnecessary fear of having to do a large project all at one time．
✧（3） ．
If your workplace is full of distractions（使人分心的事），you'll need to make some changes．You may need to remove your phone or TV from your workplace．If people often stop by for a talk， you may need to move to a different place．
✧Follow the five﹣minute rule．
The hardest part about any task is getting started． That's why so many people avoid their work until the last minute． Doing so usually leads to added stress． One solution to this problem is to schedule a time daily to work on your big project． Work on it for only five minutes． Then decide whether or not to continue． Surprisingly， once you've begun， （4） ．
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A． you will certainly succeed at once B． Change your working environment C． This will give you a sense of success D． it can discourage you from getting started E． you may be able to keep going and finish the task |
Have you ever seen a solar panel （太阳能电池板）in your neighborhood？ Solar panels take energy from the sun and turn it into electricity．Over the past ten years， the price of solar panels has gone down greatly．In many parts of the world，solar energy is now the cheapest form of electricity． More and more people have started using solar energy to power （给……供电）their homes．
However， solar panels also have their problems．They stop working at night and on rainy days． Is it possible to make them produce electricity all of the time？
Scientists at Suzhou University， China， have invented a new solar panel now． It can produce electricity not only from solar energy but also from falling rain． When a raindrop falls on the solar panel and then rolls （滚动） down， it creates friction （摩擦力） on the surface of the panel， which can then be turned into electricity．
Sun Baoquan is one of the inventors．"Our new invention can produce electricity in any weather during the day，" he says．"It can even provide electricity at night if there is rain．"
The solar panel， however， does not make much electricity from falling rain．So Sun Baoquan is still working hard to improve it． The scientist also wants to make solar panels more flexible， which are as soft as clothing．
The field of solar energy is developing fast． Scientists around the world have been improving solar panels． Some have been working on ways to join solar panels and wind power together． Some have been trying to use sunlight to produce liquid and gas fuels （ 液体和气体燃料）．
（1）Which energy is now the cheapest form of electricity in many parts of the world？
A． Solar energy．
B． Water energy．
C． Wind energy．
（2）What is one of the problems of common solar panels？
A． The price of them is rising．
B． They can't work all of the time．
C． They can hardly power people's homes．
（3）Why is the new solar panel more scientific and useful？
A． It has a larger size than a common one．
B． It produces more electricity from falling rain than solar energy．
C． It can produce electricity day and night and even in rainy conditions．
（4）What does the underlined word "flexible" mean in Paragraph 5？
A．柔软的
B．光滑的
C．坚硬的
（5）We can infer （推断） from this text that ．
A． there is no room for developing solar energy
B． there is no end to the research in the field of solar energy
C． solar energy has completely taken the place of other kinds of energy
On June 9th，1870， Charles Dickens died at the age of 58． The next day， a headline in The New York Times read： "Death of the Great Novelist …Will Be Remembered by the People …"
The headline was not overstating （夸大） the popularity of Dickens．Even today， the British novelist is loved by readers all over the world．Dickens created some unforgettable characters． You must have heard of or even read some of his novels： Oliver Twist， A Christmas Carol and A Tale of Two Cities． A Tale of Two Cities has sold more than 200 million copies． Since 1897， there have been more than 300 film and TV adaptations （改编版本）of Dickens' works．A Christmas Carol alone has had nearly 50．
Natalie Mcknight is a literature professor （文学教授） who studies Dickens and his works．She explains why the novelist has remained so popular． One important reason， she says，is that Dickens wrote from his heart． He tried hard to produce emotional effects （情感效果） among his readers． In his works，he paid special attention to the "little man" at the bottom of society in the UK， which deeply mirrored the social reality at that time． A Christmas Carol， for example， was written to make every reader think about how they could make a difference to their society． People always enjoy works that make them laugh， cry and think． Many other 9th﹣century novelists wrote entertaining （娱乐的） works． However， few of them worked as hard as Dickens to touch the readers deeply．
Dickens wrote about situations and emotions that still interest people today． He used his pen to fight social inequality and gave voice to the poor． His works led to many important social changes． Readers always enjoy seeing poor people rise and succeed．
This year marks the 150th year of Dickens' death． It's another chance to remember this great writer． Will you read or re﹣read some of his famous works？
（1）What is Paragraph （段落）2 mainly about？
A． Personality of Dickens．
B． Appearance of Dickens．
C． Popularity of Dickens．
（2）As a novelist， why has Dickens remained so popular？
A． He wrote for fun．
B． He wrote from his heart．
C． He mainly wrote for the upper class．
（3）When people read Dickens' novels， they could ．
①meet the "little man" at the bottom of society in the UK
②know about the social reality at that time
③not be influenced by the works at all
④think about how to make a difference to their society
A．①②③
B．②③④
C．①②④
（4）What does the underlined word "inequality" mean in Paragraph 4？
A．不平等
B．不现实
C．不稳定
（5）The purpose of writing this text is probably to ．
A． introduce Charles Dickens' life and death
B． encourage readers to read or re﹣read Charles Dickens' works
C． present the similarities between Charles Dickens and other writers
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The Name of This Book Is Secret Readers will love following Max﹣Ernest and Cass as they solve the mystery（谜）of a missing magician! Filled with word games，this is a book that won't stay secret for long． "An amazing story full of puzzles （不解之谜）! It will certainly win your heart and will make you never want to stop turning the pages!" ﹣﹣Alex Smith，13 Buy now! ﹩13.90（hardcover），﹩8.20 （e﹣book） |
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The London Eye Mystery Salim suddenly disappears．No one knows where he has gone．How on earth could he have disappeared？ His cousins，Ted and Kate，have to follow clues （线索）around London and find him before it is too late． Can they make it？ "It's a great book! I had my nose in it all the time! This must be the coolest book in the world!" ﹣﹣Sarah Andrew， 12 Buy now! ﹩12.60（hardcover），﹩7.10 （e﹣book） |
（1）Who is missing in The Name of This Book Is Secret？
A． Salim．
B． A magician．
C． Max﹣Ernest．
（2）What does Sarah mean by saying "I had my nose in it"？
A． She liked the smell of the book．
B． The book was very hard to understand．
C． The book was so interesting that she read it carefully．
（3）How much money can you save if you buy an e﹣book of The London Eye Mystery instead of a hardcover of it？
A． ﹩5.50．
B． ﹩5.70．
C． ﹩7.10．
