The Great Fire of London started in the very early hours of 2 September 1666. In four days it destroyed more than three-quarters of the old city, where most of the houses were wooden and close together. One hundred thousand people became homeless, but only a few lost their lives.
The fire started on Sunday morning in the house of the King's baker(面包师)in Pudding Lane, The baker, with his wife and family, was able to get out through a window in the roof. A strong wind blew the fire from the bakery(房)into a small hotel next door. Then it spread quickly into Thames Street. That was the beginning.
By eight o'clock three hundred houses were on fire. On Monday nearly a kilometer of the city was burning along the River Thames. Tuesday was the worst day. The fire destroyed many well-known buildings, old St Paul's and the Guildhall among them.
Samuel Pepys, the famous writer, wrote about the fire. People threw their things into the river. Many poor people stayed in their houses until the last moment. Birds fell out of the air because of the heat.
The fire stopped only when the King finally ordered people to destroy hundreds of buildings in the path of the fire. With nothing left to burn, the fire became weak and finally died out.
After the fire, Christopher Wren, the architect(建筑师), wanted a city with wider streets and fine new houses of stone. In fact, the streets are still narrow; but he did build more than fifiy churches, among them new St Paul's.
The fire caused great pain and loss, but after it London was a better place: a city for the future and not just of the past.The fire began in_______.
A.a hotel. | B.the palace. | C.Pudding Lane. | D.Thames Street. |
The underlined word "family" in the second paragraph means_______.
A.home. | B.children. |
C.wife and husband. | D.wife and children. |
It seems that the writer of the text was most sorry for the fact that ________.
A.some people lost their lives. |
B.the birds in the sky were killed by the fire. |
C.many famous buildings were destroyed. |
D.the King's bakery was burned down. |
Why did writer cite(引用)Samuel Pepys?
A.Because Pepys was among those putting out the fire. |
B.Because Pepys also wrote about the fire. |
C.To show that poor people suffered most. |
D.To give the reader a clearer picture of the fire. |
How was the fire put out according to the test?
A.The king and his soldiers came to help. |
B.All the wooden houses in the city were destroyed. |
C.People managed to get enough water from the river. |
D.Houses standing in the direction of the fire were pulled down. |
任务型阅读(共l0空;每空l分。计l0分)
阅读下列短文,根据短文中的信息完成文后表格。(每空一词)
Happiness Ks not far away
Happiness comes from the little things in life.Simple ways in our daily life often help the most.It is not a dream for you to make it come true but a shining star that guides you and a mirror that shows you the meaning of life in the world.If you feel that happiness does not come to you,here are the following steps which will lead you there.
To yourself
Start by treating yourself kindly and becoming your own best friend.
Give up trying so hard to become someone else who is not yourself right now.It's better to just be you.
To your life
Walk in the park or along the street with a pet.Balance your life with activities and a good rest.
Play and do those activities which gently nurture(滋养) your own mind.Playing in your garden or filling your home with beautiful flowers is not a bad try and the memory of those flowers will be always carried with you.
Smile as you think about the future.If you smile,you can not have negative(消极的) thoughts!
Concentrate on the positive(积极的) in this world,and look for joy.
To your work
Work hard and make efforts to reach your goals,and reward yourself when you are done.
Remove the task that is not useful.We are learning that doing too many tasks at the same time just doesn't work.
Try writing down what is troubling you,discussing your trouble with yourself.The science now shows that as you write your troubles,your brain will change for the better.
By writing a daily thanks diary you will feel the positive memory and experiences once more,and by remembering these moments,your levels of happiness will rise.
To your friends
You can write a "happy letter" to your family and friends every day.Just a short note will do.You can do the following:
Monday: Write a thank-you note to your friend.
Tuesday: Write a short letter to your friend about a good moment you have recently experienced.
Wednesday: Write about a nice moment you plan to experience in the future.
Thursday: Write a letter to someone that is important in your life.
Friday: Write three things that went really well today.
Saturday and Sunday: Go on with your daily thanks diary.
If you pay attention to all that is good in your life instead of negative thoughts,happiness will become a natural Dart of your day!
Happiness is not far away |
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Introduction |
Happiness comes from the little things in life. |
|
To yourself |
*Be * |
|
To your life |
*Keep a balance between activities and rest in your life. *Do something good to your own mind and have the memory carried with you. *Keep a smiling face to the *Concentrate on the positive things and look for something |
|
To your work |
*Work hard to *Remove the task which is *Try writing every day to raise your levels of happiness. |
|
To your friends |
*Write a thank-you note to a friend on Monday. * *Tell your friend what you are going to experience in the future on Wednesday. *Write fl letter to someone *Write three things that went really well on Friday. * |
|
Conclusion |
Pay attention to the positive things and you will feel happy. |
When you watch 3D movies or TV,you have to wear a special pair of glasses.The 3D glasses make the images from the screen look like they are there in the room with you.
Three-dimensional,or 3D,means having three dimensions(维度) : width,height and depth.3D technology(技术) is based on the way the human brain(大脑) and eyes work.Because the pupils of a person's eyes are about 6.5era apart(分开),when we look at something,each eye sees it from a different angle(角度).Our eyes send the two images to our brain,and the brain puts them together.The small difference between the image from the right eye and the image from the left eye allows us to see depth.
When we view pictures and television in two dimensions,each eye gets the same information.That is because the image has no real depth,and there is only one of viewing it.So the goal of 3D technology is to get a different image into each of the viewer.It uses two film projectors.One projects a left eye image and the other projects a right image.The 3D glasses allow us to see a different image in each eye.
While watching 3D films,we feel that we are in the same environment as the things we're watching.However,it also has its disadvantages.The 3D glasses work by controlling the amount of light that reaches the eyes.It makes the screen look darker.What's more,people with eye problems may get headaches if they spend too much time watching 3D movies,because their brains need to work harder to "read" the images.According to the passage,we can see 3D TV with the help of ____.
A.the exciting games | B.the special glasses |
C.the dark screen | D.the image in the room |
The second paragraph mainly tells us ____.
A.how we see things in 3D |
B.how 3D films are made |
C.what the human brain does for our eyes |
D.how different images get into the brain |
The underlined word "pupils" in the passage means____ in Chinese.
A.学生 | B.视线 | C.睫毛 | D.瞳孔 |
Which of the following is TRUE?
A.3D glasses make the screen look brighter. |
B.People with eye problems can't see 3D films. |
C.A 3D film needs making by two film projectors. |
D.3D glasses held people get the same image in each eye. |
Nearly eight hundred million people in this world cannot read or write,most of them in developing countries.Two-thirds are women and girls.
John Wood who started the Room to Read campaign (运动),has opened1650 schools and 15000 libraries in some of the world's poorest communities(社区).He said that from the beginning,Room to Read's goal was to reach 10 million children around the world in the poorest countries.
In 1998,on a three-week vacation journey in Nepal,Wood met a local headmaster who invited him to visit his school in a far mountain village.The experience changed Wood's life.
"This headmaster had 450 students at the school,but he didn't have any books," Wood said."He had a library that was empty."
Wood promised to fill the library shelves and returned to the village one year later with some of his friends with 3000 books.And that was just the start.Later,Wood used some of his personal money to start Room to Read. He believes that world change begins with educated children.Today,the programme can be found in10 countries across Asia and Africa.
Wood believes the key to the program's success is local support.While Room to Read gives away money and provides books,communities offer land and parents help build the school.Agnes,a Room to Read teacher in Zambia who also runs the library,is proud to say the literacy' at her school has improved. Room to Read's biggest challenge is the huge need. Hundreds of communities have asked for literacy prograrnmes.One way of Room to Read's success is that it will achieve Wood's goal of reaching 10 million kids by 2015,five years earlier than it is planned.The purpose of the Room to Read campaign is to ____.
A.ask parents to read together with their children |
B.help poor children to learn to read and write |
C.tell more people the importance of reading |
D.help 10 million children to go to college |
When John Wood travelled in Nepal in 1998,he ____.
A.visited many local schools |
B.sent many books to local children |
C.started the Room to Read campaign |
D.met a man who changed his life |
The underlined part "the literacy" in the last paragraph refers to(指的是).____
A.the teaching conditions |
B.the teaching quality |
C.students' ability to read and write |
D.the money teachers earn every month |
John Wood is a person that is ____.
A.helpful and generous |
B.honest and brave |
C.careless but active |
D.strict but friendly |
Please sit down and enjoy your meal.Just don't talk about it.
These are the requirements at a popular dining party that is known as "silent dinners".It encourages people who take part in the dining party not to speak for one to two hours and not to use electronic devices.Instead,the idea is to just on the food.
"Silent dinner parties are fast growing," said Honi Ryan,who has hosted 32 silent dinner parties in 11 cities across eight countries,including Germany,Australia and the United States."The way we communicate is changing so fast that we need to stop and think about it."
According to a 2013 nationwide survey,restaurant noise came in second only to poor service among customer(顾客) complaints.And 19 percent of diners who took part in the survey said noise and crowds disturbed them most while eating out.
Though silent dinners may seem curious,the idea is not a new one.Yogis(瑜伽信徒) have long enjoyed silent meals as part of a deepened practice.In fact,it was a trip to a temple(寺庙) in India by a man that encouraged one Brooklyn restaurant recently to add a silent dinner to its event programming.
"We'll make a small speech at the beginning of the meal to make sure everyone understands what is happening and ask them not to speak or use their mobile phones for at least an hour," said EAT Greenpoint owner Jordan Colon.And background music will be turned off,too.
"It's funny;when I first opened EAT,I didn't play music for some time and people had very different reactions(反映) to that," said Colon."Some people who come out to eat are ready to party,but it was so quiet without music.But I wanted to create an environment that makes you relaxed."
Although personal reactions to a silent dinner may be various,in general they are more likely to get into a lot of talk afterwards,said Ryan."At the end of the night people always have a lot to say about silence.But the most reaction is that there is always a good laugh."The first paragraph is written to be a(n)____ .
A.conclusion | B.introduction |
C.argument | D.warning |
At silent dinner parties,people should not____.
A.leave before they finish eating |
B.just pay attention to the food |
C.use a mobile phone or listen to music |
D.take electronic devices to the party |
What does the writer try to tell us in Paragraph 5?
A.Silent meals help people live longer. |
B.Yogis are the first to hold silent dinners. |
C.More and more people like eating in silence. |
D.The idea of eating in silence appeared long ago. |
In Jordan Colon's opinion,silent dinners ____.
A.make people comfortable and relaxed |
B.are hard to be accepted by most people |
C.can help him to attract more customers |
D.provide a chance to get to know others |
Biking is an amazing family activity,but finding a route that is suitable for different,ages is a little difficult.Lee McNeil and his family ate crazy about biking.They have seven children,from 4 to 24 years old.When looking for a route,they look for enough protection from traffic,good surface condition and interesting views.
Here are some great routes for biking with your whole family which are suggested by McNeil.
Iron Horse Trail
This is the McNeil family's favorite ride.The route ~s 26 miles and goes through the 2.1 mile Snoqualmie Tunnel."Beautiful views,the tunnel,and places to stop and watch the rock climbers make it special," McNeil said."All our kids have taken their turn to go through the black tunnel bravely for the first time and we celebrate it at the end of the ride." If you prefer,check http://bit,ly/Mlt9y4 for more information.
Centennial Trail
The Centennial Trail runs for 23 miles from Snohomish to Bryant.The trail is wide and smooth,and is safe for kids as it is off the roads.A nice stop is Lake Cassidy east of Marysville.A dock(码头) on the lake is fun to explore.It also has picnic tables and washrooms for a convenient(方便的) lunch-time stop.For a map,go to http://bit.ly/L5qCeY.
Cascade Trail
The Cascade Trail is 23 miles.The slope(斜坡) is gentle and it makes for an easy family ride.McNeil said it is a "beautiful ride up the Skagit Valley,with lots of places to watch wildlife along the river".Go to http://bit,ly/PR4wOW to see a map showing the trail,parking areas and bus stops.
Other good choices
Snoqualmie Valley Trail: http : / / L.usa.Gov/n WGWO
Guemes Island: http://bit,ly/LJ3RxL
Burke-Gilman Trail: http : / /l.usa.gov/ s33liWhich of the following route do McNeil's family like best?
A.Cascade Trail. | B.Iron Horse Trail. |
C.Centennial Trail. | D.Burke-Gilman Trail. |
If you choose the Centennial Trail,you can ____.
A,watch the rock climbers B.see a small valley
C.go through a tunnelD.have a picnic for lunchThe main purpose of the passage is to ____.
A.ask people to learn from Lee McNeil |
B.tell people how to make a family ride |
C.introduce some routes for family rides |
D.encourage more people to ride bikes |