A Life with Birds

    For nearly 17 years David Cope has worked as one of the Tower of London"s yeoman warders, __1__ known to tourists as beefeaters. David, 64, lives in a three-bedroomed flat right at the __2__ of the BywardTower, one of the gatehouses. "__3__ our bedroom we have a marvellous viewof1 TowerBridgeand theThames, " says David.

    TheTowerofLondonis famous __4__ its ravens, the large black birds which have lived there for over three centuries. David was immediately fascinated by the birds and when he was __5__ the post of Raven Master eight years ago he had no __6__ in accepting it. "The birds have now become my life and I"m always __7__ of the fact that I am __8__ a tradition. The legend says that if the ravens leave the Tower,Englandwill fall to enemies, and it"s my job to __9__ sure this doesn"t happen!"

    David_10_about four hours a day to the care of the ravens. He has grown to love them and the _11__ that he lives right next to them is ideal. "I can _12__ a close eye on them all the time, and not just when I"m working." __13__, David"s wife Mo was not __14__ on the idea of life in the Tower2, but she too will be sad to leave when he retires next year. "When we look out of our windows, we see history __15__ around us, and we are taking it in and storing it up for our future memories."

 

词汇:
Marvelous /"ma:viləs/ n奇妙的,不可思议的fascinate /"fæsineit/v着迷,吸引

raven /"reivən/ n乌鸦,黑色的鸟

legend /"ledʒənd/ n传奇,传说


注释:

1. ...from our bedroom we have a marvellous view of ... :从我们的卧室看去,有一个奇妙的角度。。。
2.  ... keen on the idea of life in the Tower..: 热衷于塔里的生活

空14

A:interested  B:keen C:fond D:happy

                                   A Lucky Break

    Actor Antonio Banderas is used to breaking bones, and it always seems to happen when he"s    ___1___sport. In the film Play It to the Bone he___2___the part of a middleweight boxer alongside1 Woody Harrelson. ___3___the making of the film Harrelson___4___complaining that the fight___5___weren"t very convincing, so one day he suggested that he and Banderas should have a fight for real. The Spanish actor wasn"t___6___on the idea at first, but he was___7___   persuaded by his co-star to put on his gloves and climb into the boxing ring. However, when he realized how seriously his___8___was taking it all, he began to regret his decision to fight. And then in the third round, Harrelson hit Banderas___9___hard in the face that he actually broke his nose. His wife, actress Melanie Griffith, was furious that he had been playing "silly macho games". "She was right," confesses Banderas, "and I was a fool to___10___a risk like that in the middle of a movie."

    He was___11___of the time2 he broke his leg during a football match in his native Malaga. He had always___12___of becoming a soccer star, of performing in front of a big crowd, but doctors told him his playing days were probably over. "That"s when I decided to take___13___    acting; I saw it as___14___way of performing, and achieving recognition. What happened to me on that football___15___was, you might say, my first lucky break."


词汇:

middleweight / "mɪd(ə)lweɪt / n. 中量级拳击手
convincing / kən"vɪnsɪŋ / a.有说服力的,令人信服的
furious / "fjʊərɪəs / a. 暴怒的,强烈的
macho / "mætʃəʊ / a. 雄壮的,男子气概的
confess / kən"fes / v.  承认,坦白

 
注释:

1.  ... plays the part of a middleweight boxer alongside ... :…………并肩,扮演一个中量级拳击手……
2.  ... was reminded of the time ... :......想起……的时候……

空14

A:further B:additional  C:different D:another

 A Success Story

    At 19, Ben Wayis already a millionaire, and one of a growing number of teenagers who have___1___ Their fortune through the Internet. ___2___ makes Ben"s story  all the more remarkable1 is that he is dyslexic, and was___3___ by teachers at his junior school that he would never be able to read or write___4___. "I wanted to prove them___5___ ", says Ben, creator and director of Waysearch, a net search engine which can be used to find goods in online shopping malls.

    When he was eight, his local authorities___6___ him with a PC to help with school work. Although he was___7___ to read the manuals, he had a natural ability with the computer, and       ___8___ by his father, he soon began___9___ people $l0 an hour for his knowledge and skills. At the age of 15 he___10___ up his own computer consultancy, Quad Computer, which he ran from his bedroom, and two years later he left school to___11___  all his time to business.

    "By this time the company had grown and I needed to take on a___12___ of employees to help me", says Ben. "That enabled me to start___13___ business with bigger companies.” It was. his ability to consistently___14___ difficult challenges2 that led him to win the Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in the same year that he formed Waysearch, and he has recently signed a deal___15___ $25 million with a private investment company, which will finance his search engine.


词汇:

remarkable /ri"ma:kəbl/ a卓越的,值得注意的

dyslexic /dis"leksik/ a诵读困难的n诵读困难者

authority /ɔ:"θɔriti/n权威,权力,当权

consultancy /kən"sʌltnsi/ n咨询公司,顾问工作

overcome /əuvə"kʌm/ v克服,胜过

entrepreneur /ɔntrəprənə:/ n企业家,主办者

investment /in"vestmənt/n投资,投入 


注释:

1. What makes Ben"s story all the more remarkable ... : 使得 Ben 的故事更引人注意的是…...
2. It was his ability to consistently overcome difficult challenges ... : 正是他持续不断地克服困难 挑战的能力

空14

A:overcome B:overlook C:overtake D:overdo

The Difference between Man and Computer

    What makes people different from computer programs? What is the missing element that our theories don"t yet (1) ______ for? The answer is simple: People read newspaper stories for a reason: to learn more about (2) ______ they are interested in. Computers, on the other hand, don"t. In fact, computers don"t (3) ______ have interests; there is nothing in particular that they are trying to find out when they read. If a computer (4) ______ is to be a model of story understanding, it should also read for a "purpose".

    Of course, people have several goals that do not make (5) ______ to attribute to computers1. One might read a restaurant guide (6) ______ order to satisfy hunger or entertainment goals, or to (7) ______ a good place to go for a business lunch. Computers do not get hungry, and computers do not have business lunches.

    However, these physiological and social goals give (8) ______ to several intellectual or cognitive goals. A. goal to satisfy hunger gives rise to goals to find (9) ______ about the name of a restaurant which (10) ______ the desired type of food, how expensive the restaurant is, the location of the restaurant, etc. These are goals to (11) ______ information or knowledge, what we are calling(12) ______ goals. These goals can be held by computers too; a computer (13) ______ "want" to find out the location of a restaurant, and read a guide in order to do so (14) ______ the same way as a person might. While such a goal would not (15) ______ out of hunger in the case of the computer2, it might well arise out of the "goal" to learn more about restaurants.

 

词汇:

element /"elimənt/ n元素,成分,要素

entertainment /,entə"teinmənt/n娱乐,消遣

physiological/,fiziə"lDdʒikəl/ adj生理学的,生理的

intellectual /,intə"lektjuəl/ adj智力的,聪明的

cognitive/"kDgnitiv/ adj认知的,认识上的

 

注释:

1.    …attribute to computers……………归于电脑,归属于电脑……

2.    …in the case of computer………对于电脑来说……

空14

A:as B:on C:by D:in

Global Warming

    Few people now question the reality of global warming and its effects on the world’s climate. Many scientists ___1___ the blame for1 recent natural disasters on the increase ___2___  the world"s temperatures and are convinced that, more than ___3___ before, the Earth is at ___4___  from the forces of the wind, rain and sun. ___5___  to them, global warming is making extreme weather events, ___6___ as hurricanes and droughts, even more ___7___  and causing sea levels all around the world to ___8___.

    Environmental groups are putting ___9___  on governments to take action to reduce the ___10___  of carbon dioxide which is given ___11___ by factories and power plants, thus attacking the problem at its source. They are in ___12___  of more money2 being spent on research into solar, wind and wave energy devices, which could then replace existing power ___13___.

    Some scientists, ___14___, believe that even if we stopped releasing carbon dioxide and other gases into the atmosphere tomorrow, we would have to wait___15___  hundred years to notice the results. Global warming, it seems, is here to stay.

 

词汇:

climate /"klaimit/n气候,风气

hurricane /"hʌrikən/ n咫风,暴风

drought / draut/ n干旱,早灾

carbon dioxide /"ka:bən"dai"ɔksaid/ n二氧化碳

solar /"səulə/ a太阳的n太阳能

atmosphere/"ætməsfiə/ n大气

 

注释:

1. put the blame for… :把……归咎于……

2. …in favour of more money being spent on………赞成把钱花在……

空14

A:but B:although C:despite D:however

School Lunch

    Research has shown that over half the children in Britainwho take their own lunches to school do not eat (1) ______ in the middle of the day. InBritainschools have to (2) ______ meals at lunchtime. Children can (3) ______ to bring their own food or have lunch at the school canteen.

    One shocking (4) ______ of this research is that school meals are much healthier than lunches prepared by parents. There are strict (5) ______ for the preparation of school meals, which have to include one (6) ______ of fruit and one of vegetables, as well as meat, a dairy item and starchy food like bread or pasta. Lunchboxes (7) ______ by researchers contained sweet drinks, crisps and chocolate bars. Children (8) ______ twice as much sugar as1 they should at lunchtime.

    The research will provide a better (9) ______ of why the percentage of overweight students inBritainhas (10) ______ in the last decade. Unfortunately, the government cannot (11) ______ parents, but it can remind them of the2 (12) ______ value of milk, fruit and vegetables. Small changes in their children’s diet can (13) ______ their future health. Children can easily develop bad eating (14) ______ at this age, and parents are the only ones who can (15) ______ it.

 

词汇:

canteen /kænˈti:n / n食堂,小卖部

starchy /"stɑ:tʃɪ / adj(食物)含有大量淀粉的

 

注释:

1.    …twice as much sugar as………2倍的糖分……

2.    it can remind them of the… 提醒他们关于……

空14

A:behaviours B:styles C:attitudes D:habits

Traffic in Our Cities

     The volume of traffic in many cities in the world today continues to expand. This causes many problems, including serious air pollution, lengthy delays, and the greater risk (1) ______ accidents. Clearly, something must be done, but it is often difficult to persuade people to (2) ______ their habits and leave their cars at home.

     One possible (3) ______ is to make it more expensive for people to use their cars by (4)______ charges for parking and (5) ______ tougher fines for anyone who (6) ______ the law. In addition, drivers could be required to pay for using particular routes at different times of the day. This system, (7) ______ as “road pricing”, is already being introduced in a (8) ______ of cities, using a special electronic card ______ (59) to the windscreen of the car.

    Another way of (10) ______ with the problem is to provide cheap parking on the (11)______ of the city, and strictly control the number of vehicles allowed into the centre1. Drivers and their passengers then use a special bus (12) ______ for the final stage of their journey.

Of course, the most important (13) ______ is to provide good public transport. However, to get people to (14) ______ the comfort of their cars, public transport must be felt to be2 reliable, convenient and comfortable, with fares (15) ______ at an acceptable level.

 

词汇:

lengthy /"leŋθi:/ a.漫长的,冗长的

persuade /pə"sweid/v.说服,劝服

approach /ə"prəutʃ/ n.方法,途径

windscreen /"windskri:n /n.汽车挡风玻璃

outskirt /"aut,skə:t/ n.郊区,市郊

reliable /ri"laiəbl/ a.可靠的,可信赖的

 

注释:

1.    ... strictly control the number of vehicles allowed into the centre: ……严格控制进人城市中心的车辆数量

2.    …public transport must be felt to be………公共交通必须要让人感觉到……

空14

A:pass on B:throw away C:give up D:leave out

                                   A Lucky Break

    Actor Antonio Banderas is used to breaking bones, and it always seems to happen when he"s    ___1___sport. In the film Play It to the Bone he___2___the part of a middleweight boxer alongside1 Woody Harrelson. ___3___the making of the film Harrelson___4___complaining that the fight___5___weren"t very convincing, so one day he suggested that he and Banderas should have a fight for real. The Spanish actor wasn"t___6___on the idea at first, but he was___7___   persuaded by his co-star to put on his gloves and climb into the boxing ring. However, when he realized how seriously his___8___was taking it all, he began to regret his decision to fight. And then in the third round, Harrelson hit Banderas___9___hard in the face that he actually broke his nose. His wife, actress Melanie Griffith, was furious that he had been playing "silly macho games". "She was right," confesses Banderas, "and I was a fool to___10___a risk like that in the middle of a movie."

    He was___11___of the time2 he broke his leg during a football match in his native Malaga. He had always___12___of becoming a soccer star, of performing in front of a big crowd, but doctors told him his playing days were probably over. "That"s when I decided to take___13___    acting; I saw it as___14___way of performing, and achieving recognition. What happened to me on that football___15___was, you might say, my first lucky break."


词汇:

middleweight / "mɪd(ə)lweɪt / n. 中量级拳击手
convincing / kən"vɪnsɪŋ / a.有说服力的,令人信服的
furious / "fjʊərɪəs / a. 暴怒的,强烈的
macho / "mætʃəʊ / a. 雄壮的,男子气概的
confess / kən"fes / v.  承认,坦白

 
注释:

1.  ... plays the part of a middleweight boxer alongside ... :…………并肩,扮演一个中量级拳击手……
2.  ... was reminded of the time ... :......想起……的时候……

空14

A:further B:additional  C:different D:another

微信扫码获取答案解析
下载APP查看答案解析