Things like Hula hoops（呼啦圈）used to be very popular. Did you ever own any of these? If you didn't, don't feel too bad. They were all fads. A fad is something that becomes very 1among a large number of people, but only for a short time. 2 can become a fad very quickly, but can stop being popular just as quickly. 3it is no longer "cool," a fad goes away. Anything can become a(n) 4-fashion, food, music, technology, even language.
In the late 1970s, Erno Rubik, a professor was looking for a 5way to teach his students about 3D objects. He 6a six-color plastic object that would be called the Rubik's Cube(魔方). The goal was to get each side of the cube a 7color. It was very challenging. It took a few years for the toy to become popular, but then 8, in 1982, it seemed everyone had one. People bought over a hundred million of the 9.There were 50 books available that year offering solutions(解决办法). Then, just as suddenly as the craze (风尚) started, it 10. By 1983, people were not interested in the Rubik's Cube anymore, perhaps because so many people 11had one in their home.
In 2012, a South Korean musician named Psy released a song called " Gangnam (江南) Style." The music video shows Psy pretending (假装) to horse-ride while he is dancing. In six months, it became the first Youtube (一视频网站) video ever to reach a billion views (观看). Six months after that, 12went on to reach two billion views. The song and video started a worldwide 13craze. "Gangnam Style" had a huge influence on world popular culture. U.S. President Barack Obama and U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron even 14the dance. "Gangnam Style" became less and less popular, 15the "Korean Wave" of culture remains popular all over the world.
Carlton Joseph is a fashion designer(服装设计师), but not just any fashion designer. He appears on television, he writes books, and he owns his fashion house.
Born in 1980, Carlton started designing clothes when he was eleven. His father owned a clothes store, and Carlton used to work there at the weekend. Then he did a design course at college.
When he was 21, someone suggested doing a TV program. He made his first show "Carlton's Clothes" in 2004, and he wrote his first book in the same year. Since then he has written four more. Carlton got married to TV producer Susan Mills in 2005.
Three months ago, Carlton started his new company. He called it "Design Carlton".
At work Carlton always wears black trousers and a blank coat, but at home, or when he goes out, he wears clothes with bright colors (red, blue and yellow). He is especially crazy about new glasses, he buys a new pair every few weeks. "I like to look different every day," he says.
Carlton started wearing glasses when he was twelve. He dyed(给……染色) his hair red when he was 18. It is still red, and this year, for the first time, he has grown a beard. "My wife likes it, that's why" is his explanation. But his beard is black.
Who is smarter, human being or artificial intelligence(AI, 人工智能)? The question swept the world a few months ago. In March 2016, AlphaGo, an AI program developed by Google, had the Go(围棋) match with Lee Sedol, a South Korean Go player. He is the world top player of this old Chinese game.
In October 2015, AlphaGo became the first computer program to beat a professional(职业的) human Go player. And this time, it beat Lee Sedol 4-1.
In fact, before the match, most people believed that Lee would certainly be the winner, because they didn't think that AI was good enough to beat the human mind. However, the result was disappointing. As a machine, AlphaGo would never get tired, while Lee Sedol was only a human and humans must have some weaknesses.
AlphaGo's wins over a human champion(冠军) show that computers can do more difficult tasks. Some people may worry whether computers are now smart enough to beat us at everything. But scientists say that is not the case. Real life problems can be more difficult than the Go game. Thomas Johnson, a scientist of AI said, "It's not hard to get a computer program to remember and produce facts. What is hard is getting computers to use knowledge in everyday situation. " We believe we can use the technology of AI to improve the world.
—Because .
Joe was an old man. The 75-year-old lived very happily in a village and had a beautiful family. Joe had four grandchildren, and they visited him during their holidays.
During one vacation, Joe was preparing his home for the kids: cleaning and buying their favorite foods. After he finished working, he realized he lost his favorite watch. The watch was a gift from his wife when their first child was born. Joe loved the watch very much, especially after his wife's death. He was very upset about losing it.
Once his grandchildren came, they promised him they would find the watch.
One granddaughter asked: "Grandpa, do you remember when you saw the watch last before it went missing?"
"I guess when I was cleaning the barn(谷仓)！" Joe replied.
The children looked for more than two hours with Joe, but they could not find it. The kids were now also sad, but they tried to comfort(安慰) their grandfather.
One grandson went back to the barn to search again. Joe asked why he was going there a second time. But the little boy just asked the others not to follow him and to remain silent.
He was there for about fifteen minutes and then rushed to his grandfather. He found the watch and happily gave it to Joe.
Joe was surprised and asked how he was able to find it. The little boy replied: "I sat there without making a noise, and the barn was so silent. After a few minutes, I heard the ‘tick, tick' sound and found the watch."
Joe hugged and thanked the little boy.
In many countries, tattoos are in fashion (时尚). On TV you can often see a famous actor or musician with a tattoo on his arm or foot. Many sports players have them, too. In the US, tattoos are very popular. Forty percent of Americans aged between 26 and 40 have a tattoo, and 60 percent of customers in US tattoo parlors are women. These people are often professional people like doctor, teachers and lawyers.
However, tattoos are not modern. In fact, they are very old in human history. For example, archaeologists (考古学家) found a human in ice from 5,000 years ago. He had 57 tattoos on his back, ankles, legs, knees and feet. Tattoos were used for many different reasons. In ancient Egypt, people got tattoos because they were "beautiful". But in ancient Rome, tattoos were negative (负面的) and put on criminals and prisoners. In India, tattoos were religious (宗教的).
In the 16th and 17th century, European sailors (船员) arrived on the islands of Polynesia. They saw tattoos for the first time. The people on the islands had tattoos on their shoulders, chests, backs and legs. Often the tattoos were of animals or natural features like a river or a mountain. The European sailors liked them and made their own tattoos, so the idea traveled to Europe. Tattoos in Polynesia are still important today. They show information about a person's history, their island or their job.
So is there a connection (联系) between traditional tattoos and fashionable tattoos? And can you call tattoos a fashion? Chris Rainier is an expert in tattoos and his book Ancient Marks has photos of tattoos from all over the world. He thinks people in modern societies often have tattoos because they are a connection to the traditional world. But tattoos aren't a fashion like clothes or a haircut because you can't put them on and take them off again like a jacket or a hat. They are permanent (永久的) and for life.
Have you seen the cartoons of two penguins(企鹅) on the Internet? They sit on either side of a small boat. They are friends, but each does something selfish（自私的） which causes their friend "ship" to sink(沉没).
It shows how much people value friendship and sometimes worry they may lose their friends. A friend is someone to talk to about your deepest feelings. And with a good friend you will never be alone.
The key to protecting your friend "ship" from sinking comes down to three simple things: sharing, caring and communicating. Good friends like to share everything with each other. They share their snacks, they share their knowledge about schoolwork, sometimes they even share their clothes! They do whatever they can to make their friends happy. But the most important part of friendship is communicating.
It also means that you keep in touch with your friends even though they may be in different schools or live far away. Without communication it is sure to send your friend "ship" to sink into the sea.
A. And good friends also care about each other. B. The cartoons have become very popular. C. However, keeping friendship isn't always easy. D. Communicating means talking to your friends and being honest with them. E. A friend is someone you can share your happy and sad moments with. |
A.height B. menu C. nervous D. enough E. prepared F. habits
A big company wanted to find someone to work for them. Lots of young college students came to (求职) for the job，but only a small part of them were left. And this time, the company didn't plan to choose the right persons as usual.
Here came the day when they took the final interview. A big box （装潢）of papers was placed on the way to the interview room, and a few papers were lying around the box.
The first student came. He hurried along the way to take the interview. "Who put this box in the middle of the road?" the student said to (他自己), but he did not try to move the box away. Instead, he passed around the box and continued his way.
The second student came along and did the same thing. Then another came, and another. All of them complained （抱怨） about the box but （没有一个）of them tried to move it. What's worse, someone even stepped （踩） on the papers and left without having a look at the things on the ground.
Half an hour later, a thin young man with (眼镜) came. He was also among those who were left to take the interview. He saw the box and the papers around it. Without thinking twice, he （停止）and began to pick up the papers and put them into the box. Then he managed to move the box to the side. To his great （惊讶）, he found an invitation under the box. On it were the following words, "Congratulations, young man!You are the （合适的）person we are looking for!Would you like to join us?"
Sometimes, you see, （帮助）others is helping yourself.
Many people have cars in the city. But pollution is a problem because of the (traffic). Nowadays some downtown (市中心) areas around the world don't have cars. These car-free zones (无车区) are (area) for people, bicycles, and public transportation only.
Eight million people (live) in the center of London and another two million people go to work there every day. The downtown area is very (noise) with hundreds of cars, buses, and taxis, but there are a lot of beautiful parks with free music concert. At lunchtime, many people go there for a rest they get off work.
Parts of Tokyo are always crowded with hundreds of people – but no cars! These modern car-free zones are (real) popular and people like shopping there.
In the past, Bogota was polluted because there (be) lots of cars and traffic. Now the downtown area is car-free zone and the air is (clean)! Many people don't have a car and half a million people (take) the bus to work. There are lots of stores. It's not expensive.
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值日见闻 |
⒈校园不整洁，有学生乱扔垃圾，乱涂乱画，摘花，踩草坪； ⒉有学生吃垃圾食品，课后大声喧哗，互相打闹，离开教室时忘记关灯； ⒊考生自拟1-2点校园不文明行为。 |
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建议 |
考生自拟至少两点。 |
要求：⒈可以适当发挥，信中不得出现真实姓名和学校名称；
⒉语言通顺，意思连贯，条理清楚，书写规范；
⒊词数：80-100词左右。书信的开头和结尾已经给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Headmaster,
I was on duty yesterday.
Sincerely,
Li Lei
