Pierre Dupin had delivered (送货) milk to the families on Prince Edward Street for thirty years. All that knew him loved him.
Every morning at five, Pierre arrived at the milk company’s stables, saying to Joseph, “Good morning! My old friend!” Then, the two started their day proudly. Without any order from Pierre, the wagon would roll down the street. The horse stopped at the first house. There, Joseph would wait perhaps thirty seconds for Pierre to get down off his seat and put a bottle of milk at the front door…
One day, the president of the company came to check the early morning milk deliveries. Jacques, the foreman (领班) of the stables, pointed to Pierre and said, “See how the horse listens and how he turns his head toward Pierre?”
“Yeah! But Pierre’s getting old.” said the president, “Tell him it is time he rested…”
But Pierre said, “My life will be nothing if I can’t drive Joseph every day. We are two old men! Let us wear out together. When Joseph is ready to leave, then I too will do so.”
Then one cold morning, after about two years, Jacques said, “Pierre, your horse, Joseph, didn’t wake up. Go over and see him.”
Pierre took one step forward, then turned. “No…no… You…you don’t understand, Jacques.”
Now, Jacques looked into Pierre’s eyes. He saw a dead, lifeless look in them. So he said, “Take the day off, Pierre!”
Pierre stepped into the street. Then there came a warning shout and a screech (尖锐的刹车声)…
Five minutes later, a doctor announced, “Pierre’s dead…”
“I couldn’t help it.” the driver said, “Why, he walked as though he were blind?”
The doctor bent down. “Blind? Of course! This man has been blind for five years.” he turned to Jacques, “Didn’t you know that?”
“None of us knew.” Jacques said softly, “Only one…only one knew—a friend of his, named Joseph…”
1．Pierre refused to leave his job because ________.| A．he thought he was not old enough | B．Joseph couldn’t work without his help |
| C．he was unwilling to be separated from Joseph | D．people on the street couldn’t live without him |
| A．Jacques was surprised to find that Pierre couldn’t see anything |
| B．Pierre was too scared to take a last glance at his friend |
| C．Pierre was so sad because it was time for him to leave his job then |
| D．the death of Joseph drove Pierre to lose confidence for life |
| A．no one had ever known Pierre was blind |
| B．Joseph just served as Pierre’s guide after Pierre went blind |
| C．blindness didn’t make any difference to Pierre’s life at all |
| D．the president wasn’t quite satisfied with Pierre’s work |
| A．theme | B．ability | C．skill | D．method |
British gourmet Fuchsia Dunlop’s posts on WeChat are fun to read. Most of the them are about her experience with food from around the world, especially in China. She says she cooks in a very relaxed way, going to the farmers’ market at the weekend to buy seasonal products for everyday cooking—a mixture of Jiangnan, Hunan, Guangdong, and Sichuan dishes.
“For me, there are so many wonderful things about Chinese food. The thing that I find is greatest about it is that you can eat food that is both really delicious and incredibly healthy,” Dunlop says. “The Chinese are experts at cooking vegetables, so it’s very easy for me to eat Chinese food almost every day.”
Growing up in Oxford, Dunlop dreamed of becoming a cook when she was little. However, herd dream did not start to materialize until she came to Chengdu as a university student in 1994.
Always keeping a notebook on hand wherever she went, ______. Based on her knowledge of Sichuan cuisine (菜肴), Dunlop published her first book, Sichuan Cookery, in 2001, which was hailed by the Observer Food Monthly as “one of the top 10 cookbooks of all time”. Since then, she has published four books about Sichuan cuisine, and one in 2016 about recipes (配方) from Jiangnan, called Land of Fish and Rice.
Now, a Chinese version (版本) of Land of Fish and Rice, translated by He Yujia, is available. In the book, Dunlop displays her profound understanding of the food culture that runs deep in the blood of Chinese people.
Having studied Chinese food culture for nearly two decades, she regards the Jiangnan area as the heartland of the nation’s gastronomy.
“Although you have really interesting and delicious food all over China, in this area, particularly, people wrote about it and discussed it. Many of the old classic food books came from this area, for example. So, if you talk about gastronomy, and not just about good food, then Jiangnan is a really important area,” she says.
Dunlop spent 10 years researching the book.
The decisive moment was in 2008 when she went to Longjing Caotang, a restaurant in Hangzhou, where the whole approach to ingredients, seasoning, cooking and tradition was so moving and impressive that, at that moment, she decided to write a book about the area, she says.
By then, she had published three books about Sichuan and Hunan cuisine, both of which are famous for being spicy. But in Hangzhou and Yangzhou, she encountered food that was calm, peaceful, soothing and delicate.
“Jiangnan food is connected with Chinese literature. Lots of dishes have quite literary names or stories behind them,” she says.
As a result, when introducing food in the book, besides tracing the history of the dishes, she also tells stories like how Su Dongpo invented Dongpo Pork in the 11th century.
After collecting all the recipes, Dunlop tested them at her home in London to make sure they worked for people in the West.
| A．The word “gourmet” means “a person who knows a lot about good food.” |
| B．The word “materialize” means “come true, take place.” |
| C．The word “hailed” means “thought little of, laughed at.” |
| D．The word “gastronomy” means “the art of cooking and eating good food.” |
| A．People can cook Chinese food in different ways. |
| B．She can eat food that is both delicious and healthy. |
| C．She can learn how to cook delicious food for the English. |
| D．In China, there are many different cuisines in different places. |
| A．she took notes about her travel in different places in China |
| B．she wrote diaries about what she ate in Chinese restaurants |
| C．she prepared some notes for her report about Chinese food |
| D．she wrote down the recipes of the dishes she tasted |
| A．an English version of Sichuan Cookery |
| B．a Chinese version of Sichuan Cookery |
| C．an English version of Land of Fish and Rice |
| D．a Chinese version of Land of Fish and Rice |
| A．They are no good for spending the traditional Chinese culture. |
| B．They are just for people to enjoy the beauty of the Chinese food. |
| C．They are good for people around the world to know Chinese culture. |
| D．They can help Fuchsia Dunlop make money in China. |
| A．where is Diaoyu Island | B．where Diaoyu Island is |
| C．what is Diaoyu Island like | D．what Diaoyu Island is |
Rice now has its own big data platform(大数据平台), announced last month by the China National Rice Research Institute, the platform records data throughout every stage of rice production, which includes collection, storage, and analysis. It will also publish reports to improve the service of rice production at regular times. Besides big data, other technology is aiding agriculture in China in recent years.
Flying above
Drones(无人机) play an important role in farming this spring. “Using drones to spread the nutrient solution(营养液) is much safer than doing it by hand,” Shi Zhenhai, a farmer in Henan who is responsible for about 113 hectares of wheat fields, told Henan Daily.
Shi added, “The more advanced drones I’ve bought recently can be loaded with 50 liters of liquid, which can be used to cover about 3.4-hectare farmland. With four drones working at the same time, it only takes three hours to finish spreading the solution over all of my land."
Monitoring on their own
A smart glass greenhouse used to grow tomatoes gets more than 120 patented(获得专利的) technologies. Located in Shandong, the demonstration base covers about 80,000 square meters but requires very few workers. Sensors(传感器) collect information about whether the plants can grow healthily and whether the room is ventilated(通风) enough. It is then uploaded to a platform to be analyzed(分析). As a result, the correct levels of water and fertilizer(肥料) are provided for the crops by the automatic irrigation system(灌溉系统). Robots and other devices are used to pick and transport tomatoes. With facilities to store heat, the structure does not use huge amounts of energy in winter, unlike traditional greenhouses.
“Growing crops in a controlled environment allows farmers to produce high-quality plants, keep high food safety standards, and avoid the use of pesticides(农药),” Wang Haiguang at the operations office of the greenhouse told China Daily.
Technology aiding agriculture | Uses | |
| A big data platform | To record data throughout every stage of rice production, To publish reports | |
| To spread nutrient solution much To | ||
| Technologies | Sensors | To collect data on plant |
| The automatic system | To provide correct levels of water and fertilizer | |
| Robots & other devices | To pick and | |
| Conclusion | Growing crops in a controlled environment makes it | |
Ned wanted to escape(逃跑) from the Nautilus while we were in the Mediterranean. However, he had no chance. The submarine raced into the Atlantic in two days mostly staying deep under the water. I saw many shipwrecks along the way. Some were very old. Others were recent. As it surfaced, the submarine turned north.
Ned came to my room. “Tonight!” he said. “Tonight? I wasn’t ready for this.” “Tonight,” he repeated, “we are a few miles off the Spanish coast. It will be dark, and the wind is blowing in the right direction. You agreed, Dr. Aronnax, to escape with me. Remember your promise!” I said nothing. “At nine, I will go to the stair with Conseil. You will wait in the library for our signal. Everything is ready.”
“The sea is quite rough,” I said.
“Yes, but if we don’t go tonight, we will soon be too far from land!”
I knew he was right. I was also frightened. What would Captain Nemo do if he discovered our plan or if we failed? I had not seen him for several days. Now I didn’t want to see him. He might notice that I was nervous, so I stayed in my room.
At seven o’clock, I had dinner in my room. Only two hours to go! I was so nervous that I felt sick. I had a headache. I walked up and down in my room. As I looked around, I saw that Captain Nemo’s bedroom door was open. The room was empty.
It was eight o’clock, and I went to the dark library. As I waited, I felt a bump as the submarine(潜水艇) came to rest on the ocean floor.
The library door opened and Captain Nemo entered. He told me that we were in Vigo Bay. A Spanish admiral had burned his own ships there in 1702 to prevent the British Navy from taking the huge amount of gold they were carrying. He took me to the window. I found the crew of the Nautilus were gathering some gold from the sand and bringing it to the submarine. Now I knew how the Captain became so rich. “But of what use is all this gold to you?” I asked. “It’s of no use to me!” he replied, “but it can help people who are suffering.”
Ned came to my room the next morning. “We were unlucky. The Nautilus stopped just as we were about to escape.”
I told him what I had learned about Nemo and the gold. I hoped that Ned would change his mind, but he didn’t. The Nautilus was going away from the land. Escape was impossible now. Ned was disappointed, but I was not.
At eleven that night, I was surprised that Captain Nemo invited me to go for a night walk under the sea.
—Taken from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
1．What reasons did Ned Land give for wanting to escape that night?| A．abc | B．acd | C．abd | D．ace |
| A．He wanted to prepare well for the escape. |
| B．He wanted to have dinner in his room. |
| C．He was too nervous to see Captain Nemo. |
| D．He was very excited about this escape. |
| A．①-②-③-④-⑤ | B．②-①-③-④-⑤ |
| C．①-④-⑤-③-② | D．①-⑤-④-③-② |
| A．Ned and Dr. Aronnax would have a fight about whether they should escape or not. |
| B．Dr. Aronnax would tell Captain Nemo the reasons why they want to escape. |
| C．What would happen during their night walk under the sea. |
| D．Where Captain Nemo would carry the gold. |
With millions of Chinese having chosen to stay where they were during the week-long Spring Festival, the workers in theaters were working overtime (加班). They were happy to see the golden time of the year for the Chinese film market.
From February 11 to February 17, the country set a new Spring Festival record by a box office total of over 6 billion yuan according to the app Bean. The number is larger than the record at the same time in 2019, showing that homegrown films were doing a good job in the home market.
At the beginning of last year, China began closing all cinemas in order to contain COVID-19. Most of the films left theaters to go direct online, or were put off to another hot box-office season such as the National Day holiday in early October.
There is no doubt that the 2021 Spring Festival has brought a big surprise to many film makers. Detective Chinatown 3 brought in over 4 billion yuan. Hi, Mom was widely regarded as the top dark horse. Director Lu Yang’s A Writer’s Odyssey, a horrible adventure film, also drew wide attention. Besides, Boonie Bears: The Wild Life and The Yingyang Master were popular with people.
Most cinemas in big cities raised ticket prices since there were more moviegoers but fewer seats. Because of COVID-19, theaters in low-risk areas were required to limit seating to 75 percent. What’s more, as many people stayed where they were for the holiday, theaters in larger cities became more crowded. Besides, the shortage of attractive films in November and December made movies more desirable (值得向往的) to movie fans during the festival, causing ticket prices to go up.
1．What happened during the 2021 Spring Festival?| A．Most films went direct online. |
| B．The film market was very successful. |
| C．Some theater workers hated the busy work. |
| D．The box office was smaller than that in 2019. |
| A．meet | B．admit | C．include | D．control |
| A．Some good films on show. |
| B．Different comments on films. |
| C．Different prices of films. |
| D．Many good film makers. |
| A．3. | B．4. | C．5. | D．6. |
| A．①②③ | B．②③④ | C．①③④ | D．①②④ |
There are many ways to help improve your health like eating healthy food. Taking exercise and getting medical help. But the easiest and cheapest way to improve your health is just to sleep eight hours or more every night. The general sleeping rule is that the younger you are, the longer sleep you need. But regardless of(不管)age, some people need to sleep more while for some a few hours is enough.
The problem with sleep is that more and more people in the world are not sleeping enough. According to the World Health Organization over half the people in the world may be sleep-deprived. Having less sleep not only makes people feel tired but also causes accidents. In the United States alone, sleepy drivers cause at least 100,000 traffic accidents a year. Also sleep problems can cause medical problems such as high blood pressure(血压).
Why are so many people sleep-deprived? Part of the reasons may be cultural. In the American culture, people put a higher value on work than on sleep. In fact, peopele who sleep a lot are usuallv seen as “lazy”. Also, you can sometimes hear some people say proudly that they don’t have much time to sleep. they only sleep four or five hours a night. It seems that the less you sleep, the more work you’ll do.
How do we teach these people to learn the value of sleep? Perhaps they may listen to the advice of Dr. James Maas an expert (专家) in sleep. He says , “Sleep is like a credit (信用卡) card. When you sleep less. you are only borrowing time. You always have to pay it back. The morehours you don’t sleep, the more hours you should t sleep to ‘pay back’ the hours on your ‘sleepcredit card.’”
For those who value work more than sleep, they should listen to what a famous person once said. “Don’t think you will be doing less work because you sleep during the night. That is a foolish(愚蠢的) idea which is held by people who have no imagination. You will be able to do more.”
1．According to the writer, the easiest and cheapest way to improve health is to .| A．eat healthy food every day |
| B．take excrcisc as much as possible |
| C．get medical help whenever necessary |
| D．sleep eight hours or more every night |
| A．Having a good sleep. | B．Excited about sleep. |
| C．Having less sleep. | D．Interested in sleep. |
| A．An hour. | B．A report. |
| C．A credit card. | D．A piece of paper. |
| A．Sleeping during the night is foolish. |
| B．Sleeping during the night is helpful. |
| C．People have no courage. |
| D．People always do less work. |
| A．The Value of Sleep |
| B．The Value of Study |
| C．The Ways of Eating Less |
| D．The Ways of Making Money |
My brother and I were driving home together and started talking. As a result of this distraction, my brother took a wrong turn. Unluckily, the wrong turn took us towards a bridge and we had no way of turning back. My brother had to pay to cross. He was clearly unhappy with the mistake and the needless waste of $4.
As we drove forward, my brother noticed an old car stopping on the road. A young man was standing nearby, trying to hone someone. I was busy trying to find out which way we should go next but my brother stopped our car and asked the man if he needed any help. And he did! He had a flat tire.
My brother helped him change the tire. We started getting to know the young man. He said that this had been a bad week for him. Earlier he had gotten into a car accident, and now this tire on his way home didn’t work. But he called us “a breath of fresh air” and kept thanking us because he really would have been in big trouble if we hadn’t come along. After we finished the job, he thanked us again and tried to give us $20. “No,” I said. “We had never thought about getting to the end of that bridge. We took a wrong turn. But now we know why we did it. It was to help you! Thank you for turning our mistake into a chance to help.”
My brother taught me a lot. He was able to turn his annoyance over the mistake into positive energy. He was able to see a chance to help (which I totally missed) even in a negative situation which could only come from a calm mind and an open heart. That was the bridge we should cross.
1．What made the writer’s brother take a wrong turn?| A．Being lost in the thought. | B．Being new to this part of the city. |
| C．Misreading the road signs. | D．Paying attention to his conversation. |
| A．They helped him with his flat tire. | B．They saved him from a car accident. |
| C．They showed him the right way back home. B They comforted him and gave him some money. | |
| A．Brave. | B．Humorous. | C．Warm-hearted. | D．Quick-minded. |
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