“You’d be an intermediate (中级学生),” the clever salesgirl at the Apple Store said brightly. She was talking about the free classes one could sign up for. An intermediate, I thought with pride. “I’ve used Macs since they had green text and discs,” I said, eager to strengthen my position. “And I had a Mac Classic for years.” She smiled, or maybe she was thinking, “If it’s been that long, why are you still an intermediate?”
Why does one remain an intermediate? Sometimes it’s a matter of opportunity: Leaving New England was a blow to my cross-country skiing. No longer living on the banks of a river held up kayaking. Horseback riding, too, requires an opportunity. I know, however, a friend I rode with as a child bought herself a retired police horse in her 40s. A devoted kayaker would not have been prevented by the highways lying between her and rivers.
Sometimes, it’s ability. I have taken up piano later in life. I love music, but I can see that I have no particular gift for it. Gardening was another late job. I wasn’t a natural at that, either.
I admit I’m a little ashamed of being an intermediate. It seems to imply a lack of focus, an unwillingness to push myself to go deeper or further. Do I lack the persistence to become an expert? Am I too easily distracted to put in the 10,000 hours reportedly required to achieve mastery?
Maybe I have to accept that, for now at least, intermediate is my sweet spot. I’ve moved past the frustrations of beginnerhood without meeting the demands of expertise. A beginner is a beginner and an expert is just that. But an intermediate can be low, medium, or high. And wherever you are as an intermediate, you can always go forward, try harder, and learn more.
Who of us can claim to be an expert parent, wife, husband, child, or friend? At best, we’re the high intermediate with much to learn.
1．What did the writer want to prove to the salesgirl in the first paragraph?| A．Her position as a lifelong intermediate. |
| B．Her good knowledge about Apple computers. |
| C．Her eagerness to attend free courses. |
| D．Her ability to afford to buy expensive computers. |
| A．They are only excuses. |
| B．They appear just by accident. |
| C．They are waiting in our life. |
| D．They just come and go. |
| A．The writer’s worries. |
| B．The writer’s disappointments. |
| C．The writer’s curiosities. |
| D．The writer’s doubts. |
| A．It means the possibility to make improvement. |
| B．It marks the beginning to achieve mastery. |
| C．It presents the opportunity to become an expert. |
| D．It rids people of the difficulty to move on. |
“A writer’s job is to tell the truth,” said Hemingway in 1942. No other writer of our time had so fiercely stated, or so consistently (一贯地) illustrated the writer’s duty to speak truly. His standard of truth-telling remained, moreover, so high and so strict that he was ordinarily unwilling to admit secondary evidence, whether literary evidence or evidence picked up from other sources than his own experience. “I only know what I have seen”, was a statement which came often to his lips and pen. What he had personally done, or what he knew unforgettably by having gone through one version of it, was what he was interested in telling about.
The primary intention of his writing, from first to last, was to seize and project for the reader what he often called “the way it was”. This is a characteristically simple phrase for a concept of extraordinary complexity, and Hemingway’s concept of its meaning subtly (微妙地) changed several times in the course of his career - always in the direction of greater complexity. At the core of the concept, however, one can invariably recognize the operation of three instruments of beauty appreciation: the sense of place, the sense of fact, and the sense of scene.
The first of these, obviously a strong passion with Hemingway, is the sense of place. “Unless you have geography, background,” he once told George Antheil, “you have nothing.” You have, that is to say, a dramatic vacuum. Few writers have been more place-conscious. Few have so carefully charted out the geographical ground work of their novels while managing to keep background so unnoticeable. Few, accordingly, have been able to record more economically and graphically the way it is when you watch the bulls running through the streets of Pamplona, Spain towards the bull-ring.
“When I woke it was the sound of the rocket exploding that announced the release of the bulls. Down below the narrow street was empty. All the balconies were crowded with people. Suddenly a crowd came down the street. They were all running, packed close together. They passed along and up the street toward the bull-ring and behind them came more men running faster, and then some stragglers (落后者) who were really running. Behind them was a little bare space, and then the bulls tossing their heads up and down. It all went out of sight around the corner. One man fell, rolled to the gutter (排水沟), and lay quiet. But the bulls went right on and did not notice him. They were all running together.”
1．What’s the main idea of the first two paragraphs?| A．Hemingway’s writing began from reality and then he would let his mind wander. |
| B．Hemingway’s primary purpose in writing was to report faithfully reality as he experienced it. |
| C．Hemingway’s writing reflects his preference for a simple story that the reader would thoroughly enjoy. |
| D．Hemingway would construct a story that would reflect truths that were not particular to a specific historical period. |
| A．Stories that he had experienced rather than read about. |
| B．Stories that he had read about in newspapers or other sources. |
| C．Stories that he had heard from friends or chance acquaintances. |
| D．Stories that came to him in periods of deep thinking or in dreams. |
| A．it shows how Hemingway understated complex issues in his books. |
| B．it reflects Hemingway’s talent for making ordinary events difficult to understand. |
| C．Hemingway’s obsession for geographic details overshadowed the dramatic element of his stories. |
| D．the relationship between simplicity and complexity reflected the relationship between the style and content of Hemingway’s writing. |
| A．To vividly illustrate how exciting the bull run is. |
| B．To demonstrate that all kinds of runners can take part in the bull run. |
| C．To show Hemingway’s delicate description of the background of the bull run. |
| D．To place greater emphasis on the importance of geography, economically speaking. |
“It will be marvelous. It will be spiritual.” This is the
Back on the ground, Sir Richard called the experience “magical”. He may have
The two tycoons (大亨) are among a growing number of
For now, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic will offer
Even this 4-minute suborbital travels have a(n)
Another challenge — and the industry’s biggest remaining uncertainty — relates to
| A．modest | B．demanding | C．motivational | D．unclear |
| A．obligation | B．commitment | C．requirement | D．survey |
| A．felt ashamed of | B．kept an eye on | C．felt content with | D．got upset with |
| A．optimists | B．opponents | C．experts | D．objectors |
| A．thanks to | B．but for | C．apart from | D．in spite of |
| A．impossible | B．undoubted | C．probable | D．favorable |
| A．long-lasting | B．inexpensive | C．automatic | D．brief |
| A．On the contrary | B．What’s more | C．In the long run | D．Above all |
| A．shortcoming | B．limitation | C．advantage | D．appeal |
| A．profitable | B．uneconomic | C．eco-friendly | D．globalized |
| A．predictable | B．essential | C．irrelevant | D．uncertain |
| A．development | B．security | C．stability | D．novelty |
| A．particularly | B．critically | C．precisely | D．unforeseeably |
| A．initiated | B．drafted | C．modified | D．suspended |
| A．brave | B．abandon | C．steer | D．pause |
I Love Sports
A cross between dinner and performance art, Dining in the Dark is a new trend where diners enjoy a meal with one of the key senses removed in order to strengthen your other senses, such as taste. Many of these restaurants are operated by the blind in order to offer a chance into their world and a unique experience on the world around you. The very first dine in the dark restaurant was opened in 1999 in Zurich, Switzerland, and is called Blindekuh (Blind man’s Buff). Since then, they have grown in popularity and popped up on nearly every country.
Encouraged by online reviews, my husband and I found Nox, a dine in the dark restaurant in Singapore and we booked a dinner in the dark , all ready to challenge my taste buds and table manners. We started in the entrance and had a glass of wine with the manager who explained the process. First, we put phones, watches, and anything that could reflect or provide a light source into a secure locker. Before entering the dark room, we were seated in a lighted room and given some starters while reviewing the drinks menu. Soon after, we were introduced to our waiter who was visually impaired. He was responsible for guiding us up to the second floor of the restaurant (the dark room) and bringing us to our table. There were 2 other couples with us and we were requested to form a single line and rest our hands on the shoulders of the person in front of us as the waiter guided all of us up to the room.
My first response to stepping into a completely dark room was
This experience had instead given me a much-needed attitude towards life.
Early one weekend morning, I was sleeping like a log when the telephone rang. When I answered I heard my Grandma’s voice “Hey, sweetheart. I have missed you so much lately. Why don’t you come to the countryside and enjoy some fine views?” she asked. “Dad, Grandma is inviting us to her home,” I shouted to my father who was busy in the kitchen. “Fine with me,” he responded in a casual tone. After a quick breakfast, we drove to Grandma’s.
Once we arrived, we were both thrilled by the breathtaking landscape. The plum trees in the backyard were ripe with fruit, while millions of wildflowers colored the valley. Grandma prepared delicious lunch including her special homemade apple jam, which was my favorite. Seeing my greedy eyes, grandma said “Take some when you leave, and I’ve got plenty stored in the cellar (地窖) .” Talking and laughing, we didn’t even notice that it was late in the afternoon, though somewhat cooler than it had been that morning. Grandma suggested that we take her homemade wooden boat for a tour along the nearby river.
Seated in the boat, looking up at the sky, I felt like the clouds were greeting us cheerfully from above. In the vast fields, the golden trees were like brides in the sun. The breeze skimmed over the surface of the field, carrying the sweet smell of the flowers. It was like a picture painted by one of the Dutch masters. “It is so nice to spend some quality time with family,” Dad murmured. “It feels like we’re on an adventure,” I added. “It’s been so much fun!”
While we were admiring the splendid setting around us, the weather started getting hot and humid again. At first, we ignored this change, but when dad looked up at the sky, he saw dark, low clouds were approaching us. Then a fierce gale (大风) sprang up. Lightning flashed within the black clouds, followed by a roar of thunder. “Row!” Dad shouted, trembling, “A tornado (龙卷风) is coming!”
There was no time to think. We rowed as fast as we could.
Grandma opened the door for us.
After graduation, Jason went to work in a big business. The schedule was very tight and he was so busy working, travelling from one place to another, that he was always on business for weeks without going to his mother’s home. And this year, he hadn’t seen his mother for months. Mother’s Day was coming up, and he would have managed to go back home, but this year he was just too busy and too tired. One day, when he was driving in a small town, he saw a flower shop. He said to himself, “I know what I will do. I’ll send my mother some flowers,“
He stopped and went into the flower shop and saw a boy talking to a girl in it. “How many roses can I get for five dollars?”, the boy asked. The girl was trying to explain that roses were expensive. Maybe the boy would be happy with something else.
“No, I have to have roses,” he said. “It has to be red roses, because my mum likes them best. It’s Mother’s Day. I want to get something special.” He was stubborn.
The girl in the shop looked at the boy and was just shaking her head. Something inside Jason was touched by the boy’s voice. It seemed that he wanted to get those roses very much. Jason looked at the boy and said to the girl that he would pay for the boy’s roses.
The girl looked at the boy and said, “Okay, I will give you ‘a dozen red roses for your dollars." The boy almost jumped into the air. He took the flowers and ran out. It was worth more than fifty dollars just to see that kind of excitement.
Jason ordered his own flowers and asked the girl to have them taken to his mother. After that, with relief, he drove down the road.
Yours,
Li Hua
Yours,
Li Hua
Neesha, an 8-year-old golden retriever, is a lucky dog. After spending a fortnight on her own without food or real shelter, the tough dog was accidentally spotted by a couple, who in spite of the cold weather, were hiking the range and came across her.
Two weeks earlier, Neesha’s owners had taken her and their other dog, a German shepherd named Harley, for some outdoor exercise. Frightened by a deer, both dogs ram away. Harley found his way back to the parking lot the next day, but Neesha did not.
The family made a thorough search. They left a laundry basket of unwashed clothing near the spot where they’d last seen Neesha in the hope that she’d head straight towards the familiar smell marker. They even turned to the Internet for help in finding Neesha—but there was still no sign of her.
“We posted our experience on social media. Then a weekend later, we were still looking for her. We were starting to give up hope,” said the pet’s owner Erina O’Shea Goetelen told The Irish Times.
Eventually, the family began to accept that Neesha might not be coming home. “We just thought she is 8, and it’s been two weeks. There was no way she could survive.“
Doctors Ciara Nolan and Jean Francois Bonnet must truly be crazy hikers. They braved the elements on the freezing day when the couple decided to reach one of Wicklow’s peaks. As they neared the top, Nolan was shocked to see a dog shaking in the snow.
“She was frightened, freezing cold. She didn’t have enough energy to bark or stand, ”Bonnet said in an interview. “We tried to get her to walk, but she couldn’t stand. So we covered her with our spare clothes and gave her some food.”
Bonnet lifted Neesha onto his back for the long path down the mountain.
Neesha’s owners could hardly believe it when they learned their dog had been found alive.
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