相关试卷

Many farmers in China are exploring new career paths. From drone (无人机) operators to social media influencers, new types of occupations taken on by Chinese farmers not only bring higher incomes but also put new life into China's rural area. 

In April 2016, Yu Xiaojun, 28, founded an agricultural machinery services cooperative in partnership with his friends to provide services including sowing, crop protection and harvesting for large farms with drones. 

The cooperative now has over 100 sets of machinery and equipment and more than 20 staff members. Many young people ask Yu to teach them how to fly drones. 

As a short-video craze sweeps China, many farmers are becoming enthusiastic about sharing their lives online. Livestreaming has become a new farming tool, allowing farmers to reap the benefits of selling goods directly to urban consumers. 

Holding a plate of dried sweet potatoes, Zhang Chuanfeng stood in front of a mobile phone to introduce the local products. The 40-year-old farmer is 1.4 meters tall and was worried about his future after struggling in various jobs because he is too short. However, his transition has been a success. 

With the support of the local government, Zhang rented a stall and opened his online business. To improve his marketing skills, he attended training courses and learned from other online streamers. 

In April 2020, Zhang started livestreaming sales. The products received positive feedback from the market, and that encouraged Zhang to include more types of local specialties in his sales. 

His hard work paid off. Now Zhang has over 90,000 followers on the Douyin short-video platform. He made 5 million yuan from sales of local specialties last year. He also volunteered to help locals sell other products including honey, organic eggs and fish through livestreaming. 

"Through my efforts, I have lifted my family out of poverty, which was unimaginable before," Zhang said. "Compared to professional livestreamers, we are just at the primary stage. I hope more professionals will join us and we can build our brand."

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is one of the best books I have read in years. This is a page turner with complex characters and situations that will make you think hard about friendship, good and evil, betrayal, etc. It is intense and a great book by many measures.

On one level, The Kite Runner is the story of two boys in Afghanistan and Afghan immigrants in America. It is a story set in a culture that has become of increasing interest to Americans since the September 11, 2001 attacks. It also explores the history of the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan. On this level, it provides a good way for people to learn more about Afghan history and culture in the context of the story.

Looking at The Kite Runner as a story about culture, however, misses what the book is really about. This is a novel about humanity. This is a story about friendship, loyalty, cruelty, longing for acceptance, redemption(救赎), and survival. The core story could be set in any culture because it deals with issues that are universal.

The Kite Runner looks at how the main character, Amir, deals with a secret in his past and how that secret shaped who he became. It tells of Amir's childhood friendship with Hassan, his relationship with his father and growing up in a privileged place in society. I was drawn in by Amir's voice. I sympathized with him, cheered for him and felt angry with him at different points. Similarly, I became attracted by Hassan and his father. The characters became real to me, and it was difficult for me to put the book down and leave their world.

I highly recommend this book, especially for book clubs. For those of you who are not in a reading group, read it and then lead it to a friend. You are going to want to talk about it when you finish.

Visiting the Met

Masters and Masterpieces: Chinese Art from the Florence and Herbert Irving Collection (January 30—June 5)

An outstanding selection of Chinese art gifted to the Met by Florence and Herbert Irving is the focus of this exhibition. Beginning in the early 1970s, the Irvings built one of the most comprehensive collections of Chinese art in the world. The approximately 120 works on display cover almost all major categories of Chinese art.

P.S. Art 2021 (January 23—June 5)

P.S. Art is an annual celebration of achievement in the arts in New York City public schools. This exhibition showcases the creativity of 152 prekindergarten through grade 12 students from all five boroughs.

Baseball Cards from the Collection of Jefferson R. Burdick (June 3—November 22)

The Burdick collection of baseball cards tells the history of popular printmaking in the United States, In 1947, Jefferson R. Burdick began to give away his baseball cards to the Met. This exhibition features over one hundred cards produced between the 1880s and the 1950s.

Relative Values: The Cost of Art in the Northern Renaissance (January 23—August 7)

Bringing together sixty-two masterpieces of sixteenth-century northern European art from the Met collection and one important loan, this exhibition centers around questions of historical worth, exploring relative value systems in the Renaissance era.

Open

Sunday—Tuesday, and Thursday: 10:00—17:00

Friday and Saturday: 10:00—21:00

Closed Wednesday

Closed Thanksgiving Day, December 25, January 1, and the first Monday in May.

Tickets

$25 for adults; $17 for seniors; $12 for students; free for children under 12.

注意：1.词数 100 左右2.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

参考词汇：班服（class uniform）

增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在其下面写出该加的词。

删除：把多余的词用斜线(\)划掉。

修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。

注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；2. 只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。

As far as I'm concerned, diligence is much important than intelligence. Firstly, as known to all, a knife will not be sharp if not sharpen regularly. The same is true with studying. In other words, unless you don't study hard and only depend on your intelligence, perhaps you can get some achievements and stand out in the beginning. But it is no doubt that you will fall behind those that work hard in the end. Secondly, most great people, like Edison, were not smart at the school, but they get lots of achievements through hard work. However, it proves that diligence can help you to make progresses in study and become a great person.

Simon Wakefield travelled round Yunnan after leaving university. While in Yunnan, he was astonished by how(vary) the landscape is. Down in the south, it's very tropical, but in the northwest, Lijiang, a half new and half old town is on the side of a mountain, its peak (cover) with snow. Seen from above, the old town is a maze in the tourists get lost.

He went to the village where the Naxi ethnic group live. He found that it is the women run Naxi society. They have the custom of playing cards in the middle of the street. He also found the Naxi language is the only hieroglyphic language still use and that Naxi culture is (particular) famous for its music. Passed from father to son, the music hasn't changed for centuries. He went to watch performance in an old wooden hall, which (play) by Naxi men, some of whom looked as if they were well over 100 years old.

At last he understood that it is the  (diverse) that makes Yunnan attractive. However different people may appear  (be) at first, we are all the same, all equal.

When Prime Minister Winston Churchill was young, he attended a public school called Harrow. He was not a 1 student. As a matter of fact, he'd have been thrown out of the school, if he hadn't been the son of a famous leader. However, he 2 his study at Harrow, went on to the university, and then had a successful 3 in the army. He later was elected Prime Minister and brought great honor to Britain. Toward the end of his period as Prime Minister, he was4 to address the young boys at Harrow, his old 5 He gave this short but moving speech: "Young men, never give up. Never give up! Never give up! 6 !"

Many people7 Abraham Lincoln to be the greatest president of all time. Yet it should be 8  how many failures and defeats 9  his early life. He grew up on a small farm. In those early years, his family 10  had a penny and he had only one year of11 education. In 1832, he lost his job. In 1833 he 12  in business. In 1835, the woman he loved died. In 1843 he was 13 when he tried to enter the Congress(国会).

In 1856, he was defeated in the14 for vice president. In spite of these, he didn't 15 , and he was elected President of the US in 1860.

Personal history, education, situation—none of these can 16 a strong spirit. Some of the world's greatest people have17 huge problems and difficulties at some time in their lives, but they've gone on to do 18 deeds. Bury him in the snows of Valley Forge, and you have a George Washington. Make a musical genius19 to hear, and you have a Ludwig van Beethoven. Call him20 to learn, and write him off as stupid, and you have an Albert Einstein.

Learning to Give Praise to Others

Words of praise, when used right, can have powerful positive effects on others. They are free, but they're worth so much to the receiving person. Your members didn't follow you because of salaries but for more altruistic (利他的) reasons. Therefore, it is important that you give them the praise that is due for their efforts.

Don't say, "You look good today." when you could have said, "You look amazing today!" Don't say, "Thanks for your effort." Instead say, "I'm so thankful for your being on this project, we couldn't have finished it without you!"

Of course, with what I have mentioned above, be sure it's coming from your heart. Don't praise if you don't have a hint of appreciation for the person. Trust me, it will show in your eyes and the other party will feel upset. Insincere praise is flattery (恭维); you attempt to gain something from saying good things about the other person.

Besides, praising in public is rather important.  When you praise a partner in public, you lift him up and his conduct for everyone in the room to see. Look for opportunities where you can publicly celebrate the hard work of certain people and make them feel they are great. 

I believe that as you begin using these communication tips and praising people around you, you'll see a change in the atmosphere of your work environment. Eventually, you'll find yourself with a more effective team!

A．So you need to be sincere in praise.

B．This is more so in voluntary organizations.

C．People will become happier and smile more.

D．Words aren't always necessary in praising others.

E．It is much more effective than praising in private.

F．Remember that measured praise is not praise at all.

G．The best way to give praise is by being an example.

The huge billboard at the side of the highway is no joke; transporting firewood in certain areas is a crime, punishable by a four-thousand-dollar fine. The reason? Emerald Ash Borer disease, or EAB disease, a new addition to the long list of dangerous foreign pest infestations（虫害）on American soil. It was in 2002 when the Emerald Ash Borer beetle（甲虫）was first discovered in Michigan. Not long after, the pest was found in Ohio. Originally from Asia, this green beetle probably found its way to North America through a wooden box made of ash wood and immediately settled into a local ash tree. In little time, the species managed to kill millions of ash trees. 

To date, much work is underway to stop ash trees ending up in the same group as elm and chestnut trees, which are all dying out in many areas. Ash Borer Infestations are particularly troublesome because they are difficult to identify until the ash tree is heavily infested. In addition, other ash trees in the area surrounding the source will probably also be infested, making control a hard task. 

Researchers are working on many issues related to the control and removal of this harmful beetle. For example, it has been discovered that Asian ash trees are not destroyed by this native borer. It may be that, Asian ash trees have developed genes（基因）to protect them from the insect; therein, perhaps, lies the secret to controlling this pest. Insecticide（杀虫剂）treatment is also being explored on several fronts. Research is underway to determine which insecticides are proving to be the most successful. The proper application of the insecticides is being debated. 

However, all possible solutions require a great deal of study and research. In the meantime, careful steps must be taken. Methodical identification of infested trees is taking place. Identified trees are being cut down and destroyed to get rid of the beetle colonies（群）. In the end, this puts a huge drain（消耗）on city budgets, as tree removal can be extremely expensive. 

Even though it will be expensive to deal with this problem in the short term, the costs of doing nothing could be far higher, since we could lose an entire species of tree.

Most of Earth's freshwater sits underground. Worldwide, about 70 percent of the groundwater drawn to the surface goes for farming. But surface waters-rivers and streams come from groundwater, too. Drawing too much groundwater over a short time can be harmful. Natural waterways can begin to empty. And that car hurt freshwater ecosystems. Scientists consider this a tipping point when small actions can begin making unusually big differences.

A new study has found that 15 to 21 percent of tapped water(自来水)areas have reached this sort of tipping point. Most of those tapped rivers and streams are in dry areas. Farmers in rates these areas use groundwater to water their crops. At present drawing rates, the study predicts that 42 to 79 percent of water areas around the world where groundwater is drawn up for use at the surface will reach tipping points by 2050.

A healthy groundwater aquifer(含水层)protects ecosystems against seasonal ups and downs in the use of water. That provides stability for area plants and animals. But if too much groundwater is drawn up from below, surface waters will begin to flow into the aquifer, which can harm what are living in rivers and streams.

De Graaf and the study team set up a computer model. It linked groundwater drawing and water flows within rivers. The model covered fifty years, from 1950 to 2010. Then the researchers used climate forecasts to help the model predict what might happen in future years. Throughout, they kept groundwater drawing rates sustainable. More than half of drawn water areas are likely to cross this ecological tipping point before 2050, the model finds.

"We need to be thinking about this now, not in 10 years," De Graaf says. "Our study shows us where to target more sustainable efforts."