1、第十二天一、美文晨读On May 15, 2008, the California Supreme Court approved same-sex marriages in the state of California. By a vote of 4 to 3, the court declared that limiting a marriage to a union between a man and a woman violated the state constitution. The courts decision was a huge victory for gays and l
2、esbians throughout the state. Hundreds waited outside the courthouse in Sacramento for the announcement, which they greeted with cheers, hugs, and kisses. TV crews interviewed joyful couples.However, conservative opponents have vowed to fight the decision. They plan to gather over a million signatur
3、es for a constitutional amendment in November to overturn this decision. If California voters approve the amendment, lawyer Gloria Allred said, “I will take this case to the US Supreme Court. Gays must be free to marry.”It was only 60 years ago that most states banned interracial marriages. However,
4、 in 1967 the US Supreme Court ended those bans. Now the conflict is about sex instead of race. At present, only two states legally recognize same-sex marriagesMassachusetts and California. Worldwide, only five countries legally recognize such marriages.“California has joined the 21st century,” said
5、Elton John. “Now Cole Porter and I can finally get married in our favorite city, San Francisco.”“If we normal people dont vote for the amendment,” said conservative George Smith, “God will surely destroy this entire state.”二、词汇训练1. He plays a _（被动的）role in a marriage.2. Beauty is one of her many_（优点
6、）.3. It was a _（宽慰）to me to find the children safe.4. The boy was_（控告）of theft.5. This book d_（值得）reading.6. I feel g_ about having told a lie.7. When it started to rain we took a s_ under a tree.8. He s_ with pleasure after the excellent meal.9. J_from what he said, he must be an honest man.10. In
7、t_ of money, they are quite rich.三、阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（不多于3个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。More than 2000 years ago, there lived a young man in the Shouling area of the State of Yan. 1 (lack) self-confidence, he was 2 a loss as to how to behave all the time. 3 the days went by, he 4 (feel) that his walking gestures
8、were too clumsy and awkward.One day, he met some people on the road who were chatting and laughing. 5 of them said that people in Handan walked most 6 (grace). And that was just 7 he was most concerned about, so he went to Handan, 8 was far away, to learn how to walk. As soon as he arrived in Handan
9、, he learned from the children there how to walk, 9 he thought that the childrens walking gestures were lively.He learned from the old people there how to walk, because he thought the old peoples walking gestures were steady. He learned from the women there how to walk, because he thought the womens
10、 waving walking gestures were beautiful. That being the case with him, in less than half 10 month he even forgot how to walk. As he had already used up his traveling expenses, he had to crawl 四、阅读理解ARobby was 11 when his mother dropped him off for his first piano lesson. I prefer students to begin a
11、t an earlier age. Robby insisted that it had always been his mothers dream to hear him play the piano, so I took him in as a student.Robby tried and tried while I listened, then I encouraged him and gave him more instructions. But he just did not have any inborn ability.I only saw his mother from a
12、distance. She always waved and smiled, but never came in. Then one day Robby stopped coming to our lessons. I thought about calling him but I guessed he had decided to try something else.I was also glad that he stopped coming for the sake of my career. However, several weeks before the recital（演奏会）o
13、f my students, Robby came，telling me that he never stopped practicing and begged me to allow him to take part. I agreed but I made him perform last in the program, so I could always save his poor performance through my “curtain close”.I was surprised when he announced that he had chosen one piece of
14、 Mozarts. Never had I heard a piece of Mozarts played so well by someone else at his age. When he finished, everyone was cheering.I ran up and put my arms around Robby in joy. “Ive never heard you play like that, Robby! How did you do it?” “Well, Miss Hondorf. Do you remember I told you my mom was s
15、ick? Actually she died this morning. She was born deaf so tonight was the first time she could hear me play. I wanted to make it special. I knew I could.” That night, Robby was the teacher and I was the student. He taught me so many important things about life.1. Which of the following might be the
16、reason that Robby stopped coming to the piano lessons suddenly?A. He lost heart and believed that he would never make it.B. His mother was seriously ill so that he had to stop his lessons.C. He thought his teacher disliked him.D. His mother died and he didnt need to play any longer.2. From the passa
17、ge, we can learn that _.A. the writer thought playing the piano shouldnt start too earlyB. the writer thought that Robby had given up the piano lessonsC. the writer didnt teach Robby carefully because he hadnt a gift for musicD. no one else could play the piece of Mozarts well3. From the underlined
18、sentence we can infer that _. A. the writer looked down upon Robby and disliked himB. the writer thought Robby was a bad advertisement for her teachingC. with Robbys presentation, the other children couldnt play wellD. the writer couldnt teach so many students at a time4. What did the writer learn f
19、rom Robby?A. The meaning of true love.B. The meaning of giving up necessarily.C. The meaning of being kind to teachers.D. The meaning of believing in teachers.BCats, like many other animals, communicate a variety of messages using body language. Examples include arching（使拱起）their backs as a signal o
20、f fear and then slowly lowering them as a signal of relaxation. As is the case with dogs, the tail is often used as a signal. A twitch（颤动）can indicate minor anger, and a tail held high suggests confidence. A cat which chooses to lie with its stomach and chest exposed conveys happiness, trust and com
21、fort. A cat with its tail held high and twitching shows excitement, but this is often mistaken for anger. Flattened ears mean that the cat feels threatened. Mouth open and no teeth exposed suggest a feeling of playfulness or pleasure. Many people fail to understand the silent language of cats. In pa
22、rticular, “dog people” who are used to the signs of “dog language” seem slow to understand what a cat is telling them in its body language, which creates a false impression among “dog people” that cats are cold-hearted, unemotional, or dumb. To understand cats, one must observe them closely and lear
23、n what their body signals tell you. The flattened ears, teeth showing, baring belly for submission（服从）are easily “read” by humans. Some characteristic signals, however, are often misunderstood. For instance, a cat rubbing its body along an arm or a leg of its owner is not only a way to attract atten
24、tion and, perhaps, ask for a bit of food. It is also a way of “marking” its owner as its very own. 5. A cat with its tail held high and twitching is usually mistaken for_.A. anger B. confidence C. excitement D. comfort 6. “Dog people” think that cats are cold-hearted, unemotional, or dumb because th
25、ey _.A. are more used to the language that dogs speak B. cant understand the language that cats use C. are slow to understand a cats body languageD. prefer to raise dogs rather than have cats7. Which of the following is NOT the reason why a cat rubs its body along the arm or leg of its owner?A. To a
26、ttract attention from its owner.B. To show the care about its owner. C. To ask its owner for a little of food. D. To mark its owner as its own.8. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?A. Study Cat Language B. Animal Body Language C. Compare Cats with Dogs D. A Cats Body Lang
27、uageCSupermarkets are trying out new computers that make shopping carts more intelligent. They will help shoppers find paper cups or toilet soap, and keep a record of the bill.The touch-screen devices(触摸屏装置) are on show at the Food Marketing Institutes exhibition here this week, “These devices are a
28、ble to create value and get you around the store quicker,” said Michael Alexander, manager of Springboard Retail Networks Inc., which makes a smart cart computer called the Concierge.Canadian stores will test the Concierge in July. A similar device, IBMs “Shopping Buddy”, has recently been test-mark
29、eted at Stop & Shop stores in Massachusetts.Neither device tells you how many fat grams or calories are in your cart, but they will flash you with items on sale. The idea is to make it easier for people to buy, not to have second thoughts that maybe you should put something back on the shelf.“The wh
30、ole model is driven by advertisers need to get in front of shoppers,” said Alexander. “Theyre not watching 30-second TV ads anymore.”People can use a home computer to make their shopping lists. Once at the store, a shopper can use a preferred customer card to start a system that will organize the tr
31、ip around the store. If youre looking for toothpicks, you type in the word or pick it from a list, and a map will appear on the screen showing where you are and where you can find them.The device also keeps a record of what you buy. When youre finished, the device figures out your bill. Then you go
32、to the checker or place your card into a self-checkout stand and pay.The new computerized shopping assistants dont come cheap. The Buddy devices will cost the average store about $160,000, and the Concierge will cost stores about $500 for each device.9. The underlined word “they” (paragraph 1) refer
33、s to _.A. supermarkets B. shop assistants C. shopping carts D. shop managers10. Which of the following is the correct order of shopping with computerized shopping carts?a. Start the system. b. Make a shopping list.c. Find the things you want. d. Go to a self-checkout stand.A. abdc B. bacd C. acbd D.
34、 bcad11. We can learn from the last paragraph that _.A. intelligent shopping carts cost a large sum of moneyB. the Concierge is cheaper than the Buddy devicesC. shop assistants with computer knowledge are well paidD. average stores prefer the Concierge to the Buddy devices 12. What might be the most
35、 suitable title for the text?A. New age for supermarkets B. Concierge and Shopping BuddyC. New computers make shopping carts smarter D. Touch-screen devices make shopping enjoyable五、句子翻译1. 你昨天不在学校，能解释一下你的去向吗？ _2. 警察围住了那个偷车的人。 _3. 请保证你能及时回来吃午饭。 _4. 提速到60公里每小时，但是不要再快了。 _5. 老师告知学生周末没有家庭作业。 _6. 新闻报道说明天将
36、有暴风雪。 _7. 医生相信吸烟越少健康越好，这是很明显的。 _8. 他的关于学生一天要学习15个小时的建议导致了大家的辩论。 _9. 然而，每天投入额外的十五分钟确确实实需要付出。 _10. 要保持专心致志，你需要牢记自己为什么学英语。 _第十二天二、词汇训练1. passive 2. strengths 3. relief 4. accused 5. deserves 6. guilty 7. shelter 8. sighed 9. Judging 10. terms三、短文填空1. Lacking 2. at 3. As 4. felt 5. One 6. gracefully 7.
37、what8. which 9. because 10. a四、阅读理解1-4 BBBA 5-8 ACBD 9-12 ABAC五、句子翻译1. You were not at school yesterday. Will you please explain your absence?2. The policemen surrounded the man who had stolen the car.3. Please ensure you get back in time for lunch.4. Accelerate to 60km an hour but dont go any faste
38、r.5. The teacher informed her students that they had no homework for the weekend.6. It was reported in the news that there was going to be a storm tomorrow.7. The belief of doctors that the less you smoke the better your health will be is obvious.8. His suggestion that students should study 15 hours a day led to a debate.9. However, putting in those extra 15 minutes a day does take dedication.10. To stay dedicated, you need to keep in mind why you are learning English.