1、AIts become part of the restaurant table setting: knife, fork, napkin and cell phone.Distracted (思想不集中的) dining is the new concern with customers constantly texting friends, uploading a Weibo photo of the meal theyre about to chow down or emailing the boss. For many smart-phone users, its hard just
2、to focus on the meal and company at hand.Now, one restaurant in Los Angeles is giving diners a reason to turn off the digital world, by offering customers willing to check (寄存) their phones at the door a 5-percent discount on their bill. Owner and chef Mark Gold of Eva Restaurant, located on Beverly
3、 Boulevard near N. Gardner Street, hopes this gives customers a way to truly sit back and relax, enjoy their meal and actually talk with friends and family in person.For us, its really not about people disturbing other guests. Eva is home, and we want to create that environment of home, and we want
4、people to connect again, he explained. Its about two people sitting together and just connecting, without the distraction of a phone, and were trying to create an atmosphere where you come in and really enjoy the experience and the food and the company.Gold said applying the suggestion reminds him t
5、o avoid cell phone usage, too. Im guilty of it as well. When my wife and I go to dinner it seems like the cell phone is part of the table setting now. Every table you look at, its a wine glass, the silverware and the cell phone, he joked.The husband and wife team runs Eva, a 40-person space with Eur
6、opean flair. Gold said a little less than half take advantage of the deal, and no one has gotten upset about it.I think once the server approaches the table and theyre presented with the offer, they like the idea of actually talking to each other again, he said.1. When having meal in the Restaurant,
7、 we are not offered on the table. A. knivesB. forksC. napkinsD. cellphones2. Why does Gold think people should not use cellphones at table?A. Because it can cause health problems.B. Because it will disturb other customers.C. Because it may prevent people communicating with their companions.D. Becaus
8、e it can get a 5-percent discount on the customers bills.3. What can we learn from the passage?A. Many people would like to upload a photo of their food before they eat nowadays.B. People are forbidden to use cellphones in Eva Restaurant.C. More than half of the customers in Eva Restaurant have enjo
9、yed the discount.D. People can easily connect with each other anytime without using cellphones.4. What can be the best title of the passage?A. Eva Restaurant Home to Customers.B. Focus on Your Cellphone!C. No Cellphone at Table!D. Talk Face to Face.BOh, the power of a good nights sleep. A whole scal
10、e of positive benefits can be seen from getting enough rest, but for many of us, hitting the sack (睡觉) can be challenging. Theres plenty of advice out there about what to do to get to sleep but what about what not to do? Click through for some of the pre-bedtime activities that could be hurting your
11、 chance at getting a good nights sleep.1. Exercise No, you dont get to throw away your yoga mat or running shoes all together. Exercise is a vital activity for your health, and can actually contribute to getting better-quality sleep. The problem, though, is that exercising within three hours of bedt
12、ime can raise your body temperature, and make sleeping more difficult. Breaking a sweat, then, is best left for earlier in the day!2. Watch TV/Surf the Web Studies have shown that pre-sleeping screen time can injure your bodys ability to fall asleep. Why? Well, the bright lights of these screens can
13、 prevent the development of melatonin (褪黑素), the hormone that promotes sleep. So close that laptop and turn off that TV about an hour before bed.3. Drink Too Many Fluids Caffeine, of course, and alcohol both make it difficult to get a good nights rest. But drinking a lot of any liquid within the las
14、t hour or two before you go to bed will lead to those terrible late night bathroom breaks, and further ruin your sleep. You shouldnt go to bed thirsty, however, as youll likely wake up in the middle of the night to get a drink of water. Balance is the key here.4. Read Engrossing Stories Many of us h
15、ave done this: youre reading a really interesting novel and you tell yourself, “Oh just one more page!” Suddenly, its 2 a.m. and you have to be awake in four hours. Yep, reading a really interesting book, essay or novel before bed will make it difficult to get to sleep. Perhaps you can settle it by
16、finding the most boring thing imaginable to read!5. WorkWhatever work or school issue it is, it can certainly wait until morning. Getting work done activates your brain and can cause you unneeded stress pretty much the opposite of what you want to feel if youre trying to fall asleep!1. Whats the mai
17、n idea of the passage?A. How to sleep well at night?B. Things not to do before sleep.C. Why is sleep so important?D. The benefits of good sleep.2. Whats the meaning of the underlined phrase in Para.2?A. being angryB. playing jokesC. working out D. getting sleep3. Which of the following statements is
18、 NOT true?A. The development of melatonin can help improve peoples sleep.B. As long as you dont drink coffee or alcohol, you can get a good nights rest.C. Reading an interesting story before bedtime can make it hard to sleep well.D. Before you try to fall asleep, dont get your brain activated by doi
19、ng work.4. What can be inferred in the passage?A. Doing exercise is actually no good for your health.B. Surfing the Internet can have a lot of fun to prevent you sleeping tight.C. People can never get a balance between drinking too much and thirst.D. Reading some boring stories before bed may contri
20、bute to your sleep.CWe all, at one time or another, have pretended to be a rock star, singing and dancing along to our favorite song. Most of us have done this in the privacy of our own room when we were kids and as adults, in the privacy of our homes. Me? I love to do that when I drive! I turn on t
21、he radio, find a song that I can sing along too and pretty soon my arms are in the air and I am moving along to the rhythm. Most of the time, I do this on my way to work.Yes, that is true. I will be in my nice work clothes, jamming while driving or stopped at a traffic light. I get strange looks fro
22、m some people and others laugh. Personally, I love to get lost in the rhythm of a song which leads me to share with you the importance of being silly!The definition for the word silly, according to the dictionary is: stupid, foolish and nonsensical. I know many people do not want to look foolish. So
23、 they walk around all serious, which in all honesty, is foolish! No one is perfect, I repeat: no one is perfect. I dont care how educated, how thin, how beautiful, how simple, how rich, and so on No one is perfect! So why pretend to be something you are not? Life is so short You never know when this
24、 beautiful journey will be over, so why waste a single second on being so full of rigidity? Here is a quote by Souza, that I think says it all and is a great recipe for life: “Dance as though no one is watching you; love as though you have never been hurt before; sing as though no one can hear you;
25、live as though heaven is on earth.”When we were kids, we had no idea of what limitations were and we had no care in the world so we could do things without worrying about how we appeared to others. However, as we grew up, we lost that childlike innocence. So dont lose the child that still lives with
26、in you. The next time you feel down, go turn on your favorite song, and sing and dance along like there is no tomorrow. Trust me, you will feel a whole lot better, and who doesnt want to feel good?1. Why does the author love to sing when driving?A. Because he likes being silly.B. Because he often ge
27、ts caught in the traffic jam.C. Because he wants to pretend to be a rock star.D. Because he feels good and loves the way to relax himself.2. According to the passage, which of the following is RIGHT?A. Work hard and dont waste your time.B. Those who are honest are really foolish.C. People should act
28、 as what they really are.D. You can only dance freely when no one is watching you.3. Which of the words can replace the underlined word “rigidity” in Para.4?A. seriousness B. joyC. anger D. surprise4. What is the author trying to tell us in the last paragraph?A. People should live together with thei
29、r children.B. Kids can do whatever they like without any limitation.C. Turn to children for some help when you feel down.D. Keep your childlike innocence regardless of others view.DShe was at the beach having the time of her life. The air blowing softly on her neck was wet and warm. The sun was high
30、 in the sky and shining brightly. The calm waves kissed her legs softly as she walked through the water. Everything was perfect.Then her cellphone started violently vibrating (震动). It was her husband asking her to go grocery shopping and then come straight home. His words broke her perfect world. Sh
31、e walked down the road of the grocery store, murmuring and complaining. It seemed like every little worry would further her anger.She hated the smell of the onions. When picking up some raw hamburgers the sticky substance on the packaging almost drove her mad. She wanted to hit the screaming child n
32、ext to her. She wanted to scream, too.How dare her husband disturb her trip to paradise, especially on her birthday, about which he hadnt said anything this morning? She had woken up late, expecting to be greeted by her smiling husband with breakfast in hand. Instead, she found herself alone in the
33、bedroom while her husband was eating his own breakfast in the kitchen. She sighed as she remembered the tears that had rolled down her face. Her early leave from the beach brought back her hurt feelings. She tried to fight back the tears with the anger she felt towards him, but the angrier she felt,
34、 the more depressed she became.Angry again, she carelessly loaded the bags into the car, fiercely closed the trunk and sped home, eager to give her husband a piece of her mind. She left all the bags in the car as she marched towards the front door. She had bought all the groceries, and she certainly
35、 wasnt expected to put them away.She was trying to push the door open when a bright light shone through. Her eyes began to take in the sight of dozens of smiling shadows eager to greet her. “Surprise!” they cheered. The warmth of their smiles melted her anger away and she was reduced to tears.1. How
36、 did the woman feel after receiving her husbands call at the beach?A. SurprisedB. CalmC. PleasedD. Annoyed2. Why did the woman want to hit the screaming child in the grocery?A. Because the child was playing with an onion.B. Because the child did not greet her with a smile.C. Because the child had pi
37、cked up the hamburgers she wanted.D. Because the childs noise had worsened her bad mood.3. The underlined part, “give her husband a piece of her mind”, in the fifth paragraph, means she wanted to .A. thank her husband for giving her peaceful mindB. express her anger towards her husbandC. make her hu
38、sband disappointed and surprisedD. require her husband to go to the grocery4. What can we learn from the passage?A. The woman was not enjoying her time at the beach.B. The woman thought her husband had totally forgotten her birthday.C. The woman woke up in the bedroom with her husbands smiling face.
39、D. The woman was still angry at the “surprise” prepared for her. EZhang Xiao was recently given a school assignment that asked him to write an essay about his ideal job. The 10-year-old Beijing pupil responded by writing that he wanted to be the head of a large business.“You want to be a boss, thats
40、 OK. But you shouldnt end your article like this. You should write I want to do charitable work with the money I earn,” his teacher commented.Zhangs mother, Chen said she could see the point of the teachers advice but suggested a different approach. “Hes only 10. Weve always instructed him to help t
41、hose in need. But charity? I dont think he really understands the word at the moment.” Chen referred to her own bitter experience as a fourth-grader. She described “the weather, the attendee, who was chosen to raise the flag” and so on in a writing assignment on the topic of “Raising the flag”. Howe
42、ver, despite her honesty, Chens essay was deemed “a very bad example”. The young girl quickly identified the difference: The other children had written sentences such as “The red flag was dyed by the blood of the martyrs (烈士),” or “The flag reminds us of the sacrifice the heroes made”. That kind of
43、sentences was missing from Chens. This is the unwritten rule for Chinese students: You can write what you think, but make sure it reflects your “positive thinking”. The problems are really highlighted by the Gaokao, Chinas torturing and life-changing college entrance examination. “The articles have
44、always been highly stereotyped, but more so in recent years,” said Qi Yongxiang, who has been an examiner for the writing exam since 1993. “There is not much diversity or creativity, instead its full of clichs (陈词滥调). They write some beautiful sentences, but without making a point.” Nowadays, the co
45、mmon practice is to prepare stories about famous people, decorated with beautiful sentences, and then find a way to squeeze them into the essay, regardless of the actual topic. “The truth is, its really hard for students to express themselves freely under the current education system, especially whe
46、n faced with the high pressure exposed to the entrance exam,” said Xiong Bingqi, vice-president of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, a non-governmental research group. “The writing test was originally designed to display a students independent thinking and writing skills. But now, they
47、just try their best to adapt to the examiner,” said Xiong. Chen has always taught her son to write freely, but that means his scores have not been good. She is now considering a compromise to ensure that he can win a place at a top-ranked middle school. “I dont want him to be a liar. But I dont want
48、 him to be treated unfairly, either,” she said.1. What does Zhang xiaos teacher mean in his comments?A. Zhangs ideal job shouldnt be a boss.B. Zhang should donate some money to the school.C. Zhang article should be ended with a “positive” sentence.D. Zhang should always help those in need.2. Accordi
49、ng to Chens experience, which of the following is TRUE?A. She considered it as a happy experience.B. She lied in her article on “Raising the flag”.C. She missed some heroes names in the article.D. She wrote an article serving as “a bad example”.3. Which of the following is WRONG about students curre
50、nt writing exams?A. Students are often prepared with some famous people for their articles.B. Students are often free to express themselves with facts in the exams.C. Students often write some beautiful sentences making no sense.D. Students often give some popular examples instead of something fresh.4. What can we infer from the last paragraph?A. Chens son was never treated fairly.B. Chen was in a dilemma and puzzled about the situation.C. Chen wanted her son to write freely and forget the grades.D. Chen would not compromise on what her son should write.