It is often said that you can't have too many friends. But it seems that there is a natural limit to the number of people we stay in touch with. A study found that when we make new friends, by starting a new job or going to university, we downgrade or even drop old ones. And while the friends may change, the number stays almost the same.
Oxford University researcher Felix Reed-Tsochas asked 24 students in the final months of school to list all their friends and relatives and say how close to them they were. The pupils filled in the questionnaire(问卷) twice more after starting work or going to university. They were also given free mobile phones and agreed that researchers could use their bills to work out who they called, when and for how long.
Putting the two pieces of information together showed, unsurprisingly, that most people have a small circle of close friends, who they spend most of their time talking to. This inner circle is surrounded by group after group of ever more distant friends. As the volunteers' lives changed, this overall pattern, including the number of best friends, remained almost the same, meaning that some close friends from childhood were dropped or downgraded as new friendships were built.
Dr Reed-Tsochas said: "Maybe my best friend is no longer the same person but the amount of time I allocate(分配) to my best friend is still the same." He added that this finding suggests that even with the coming of modem technology we are only capable of forming a limited number of true friendships.
Chester University researcher Dr Sam Roberts said: "Our results are likely to reflect limitations in the ability of humans to keep emotionally close relationships both because of limited time and because the emotional capital(情绪资本) that individuals can allocate between family members and friends is limited. "
For Nick Vujicic, life was going to be difficult from the day he was born.When Nick arrived into this world, he 1 everyone.He was not like the other babies and it was 2 obvious to his parents and to the doctors in the hospital.
There was no 3 or answers for his condition.Nick was born without any limbs—that is he was born without any arms or legs.But despite being physically 4 , he was mentally 5 and the rest of his body was functioning fine.
6 he had loving parents, Nick would find school hard as he would often be looked down upon by the other children and at the young age of 10, he considered 7 his life by drowning himself in a bathtub.These dark thoughts were 8 by his negative attitude to being disabled and at the time, he thought that he would never be able to do 9 by himself, that he would never have a job and that he would always have to 10 on his parents for help.
Nick was wrong.As an adult, Nick is a successful public speaker and is famous for his motivational 11 which focus on life with a disability, hope and finding meaning in life worldwide.He 12 so many people with the story of his life, how he has 13 so many difficulties and most importantly how he is happy every day.
Despite having no arms or legs, Nick lives 14 , even finding ways to do almost 15 things like brushing his teeth on his own and swimming.He has to work harder than a full bodied person and he achieves his goals.
At the first impression, you may look at Nick and feel 16 .You may feel sad that this man has no arms or legs and you might feel his 17 and upset that he could find everyday situations difficult.But we should
18 Nick, as he is extremely positive and he gets on with life.He 19 every day and makes the best of what he has: a positive attitude, a creative mind and a powerful 20 .He also has a very kind and very beautiful wife and they are truly happy and in love.
注意：1)．词数100左右
2)．可以适当增加细节，简述丢失和找回钱包的过程，以使行文连贯。
参考词汇：大英博物馆the British Museum护照passport
Dear Sir/ Madam,
Yours,
Li Hua
No. 1 Snapchat
With this app, the pictures people share with friends will disappear automatically(自动地) after they are seen. Snapchat has become more and more popular since 2012. Over 700 million photos have been shown daily by May 2014, up from 20 million per day in 2012.
No. 2 Uber
The on-demand car service app allows users to order a ride and get picked up within minutes. On-demand service means no need to reserve (预订) and no waiting in taxi queues. And the app can be used in more than 40 countries.
No. 3 WhatsApp
WhatsApp became the world's most popular chat app in 2014 with over 600 million monthly users in August. It was also bought by Facebook in October for about $ 22 billion (about 136 billion yuan).
No. 4 Venmo
The mobile payment service is used to share bills by friends, who get together to have dinner or do something else. It took Millennials' (生于1984-1995年间的"千禧一代") smart-phones by storm in 2014. It is said that among college students the word "Venmo" is now being used as a verb—"just Venmo me".
Venom(毒液）from a local scorpion(蝎子）in Cuba is being used by Cuban scientists as an effective weapon to fight cancer. The venom, with stopping pain, anti-inflammatory (炎症） and anti-cancer properties, is the active ingredient in the medicine “Vidatox 30 CH“ which can be used to treat liver, brain, lung and other cancers. The treatment has been successfully used for more than four years in humans after being first tested in biological models. Labiofam, a Cuban laboratory, has breeding(繁殖)centers for both the Red Scorpion and Blue Scorpion. Each month, some 30,000 scorpions in Las Minas town, 270 km east of Havana are made to give the venom. After two years, the scorpions are released back into their natural habitat.
Denyer Sanchez, a biologist from Labiofam, explained that the conditions are adjusted for reproduction, proved by the high number of breeding female scorpions. He said when the offspring(后代）becomes able to live in the environment, we release them because they do not have the necessary size yet to remove their venom, said Sanchez. Sanchez also said that there is still much to research on the exploitation process of scorpions, such as female death rate or the ability to survive of the released scorpions.
Cuban research on the scorpion's venom began at the end of 1980s in Guantanamo province, the island's eastern tip, where a group of biologists and doctors became interested in the stories told by the peasants about the venom's benefits. However，the first discovery was made by Cuban biologist Misael Bordier. In 2001, Bordier visited Mexico's National Autonomous University (UNAM) and presented the research progress in a professional journal. Bordier died in 2005, one year before Cuba's Industrial Property Office gave Labiofam the rights to exploit the patent related to the venom.
I grew up in a troubled home in the 1970s, on the outskirts of downtown Orlando, Florida. Not far away, a three-story house attracted my eyes.
It was nothing like the one I lived in with my mother, a small dark place with rules about befriending others. “Don't. Never, ever talk to anyone,” my mother said.
One day, in sixth grade, a black-haired woman was introduced to our class: Mrs. Reese. Reese explained that she was starting Spanish Club. She invited anyone interested in learning Spanish language and culture to stay after school.
I could not take my eyes off her bracelets(手镯) and shining rings. The bell rang, and to my shock, no one went up to Mrs. Reese. I was under strict orders to go straight home. But that day, I stayed. I asked Mrs. Reese when the club started.
“We could begin right now if you like,” she said with a smile. I felt beautiful. That day I learned that the house of my dreams was her house. I learned how to answer questions about my age and my favorite food in Spanish. And I learned, “Do you want to come over tomorrow for cooking lessons?”
I wanted to say “Yes”, but Mom's words held me back.
I begged my mother all summer and into fall, well after Spanish Club had dissolved. I wept at night sometimes, so worried that Mrs. Reese and her family would move away.
At some point, I managed to wear my mother down and one Saturday afternoon. I rode out to Mrs. Reese's house.
The details of that afternoon are marked in my mind: We had tea. She painted my toenails red. We made a garlicky picadillo. We spoke in Spanish. In Spanish, my voice was loud and romantic. This is the real me! I remember thinking.
My mother never permitted me another visit to Mrs. Reese's house. But four decades later, I still remember that day and the life she showed me, proof of a possible future.
Do you want to go abroad to make money? If you've decided to invest（投资）overseas, you may be wondering which countries are the best, and which countries will give you the biggest returns. In some locations, investment is easier than others. Here are the top 4 best countries to invest in housing:
Italy
A charming hillside area, Abruzzo makes for a great investment. This beautiful place has lots of local housing resources, and you can buy a home that needs just $45,000. With proper repair, selling for at least four times that much, you can easily make money.
Argentina
Central America's Argentina's tourism is popular, so it has a lot to offer locals and tourists alike. This coastal country is affordable, too, especially in the busy city of Buenos Aires. As the city is rapidly expanding, now it's time to get this hot investing opportunity.
Mexico
In the south of the border, you can find unbelievable investment. Playa del Carmen will give you the most for your money. Plus its tourism is popular and it's a nice place to visit and easily accessible from the United States.
Panama
Historic and lively, Panama is a safe place for shopping. You'll enjoy great tax（税金）benefits in Panama. Panama does not charge income tax for the first 10 years of your investment.
No matter where you choose to buy, these four countries will provide you with a great location and return on investment.
Dear Miss Hanff,
You will be glad to know that the two boxes of eggs and the tins of tongue have all arrived safely and once again we all wish to thank you most sincerely for your extreme generosity. Mr. Martin, one of the older members of our staff, has been on the sick list for some time and we therefore let him have the lion's share of the eggs, one whole boxful in fact, and of course he was delighted to get them. The tins of tongue look very inviting and will be a welcome addition to our larders (食物橱) and in my case will be put on one side for a special occasion.
I enquired at all the local music shops but was unable to get the Messiah or Bach's St. Matthew Passion in stiff covers in clean, secondhand copies, and then I found they were available from the publisher in new editions. Their prices seemed a bit high, but I thought I had better get them and they have been sent by Book Post a few days ago, so should arrive any day now. Our invoice, total $4.20, is enclosed with the books.
We are sending you a little gift for Christmas. We do hope you will not have to pay any duty on it. We will mark it "Christmas Gift" and keep our fingers crossed. Anyway, we hope you will like it and accept it with our sincere best wishes for Christmas and the coming year.
My name is certainly not of Welsh origin. As it is pronounced to rhyme with the French word "Noel", I think there may be a possibility that it originated in France.
Yours sincerely,
Frank Doel
_________, the student insisted that he should be separated from his roommates, who were noisy.
A ． To avoid being affected B ． To avoid to be affected
C ． Avoiding being affected D ． Avoiding to be affected
Various efforts ________ (make) in the past decades to protect the environment.
I heard that some patients who had undergone laser eye surgery experienced sudden losses of vision, _____?
A. didn’t I B. hadn’t they
C. didn’t they D. isn’t it
71. The lady made Joe and her (company) in Rome.
72. I (panic) when I saw smoke coming out of the engine.
73. Our government understands this and (use) PSAs to educate people for many years.
74. You can hardly imagine what difficulty he had (apply) to his study.
75. The conclusion was drawn on the (base) of experiments.
Samuel looked at his sister, Emily, and said, “I wouldn’t have thought Everett would be a thief.” Emily replied, “Whoa, we don’t know that for sure.” Samuel said, “But who else could it be? He was there, he had them in his hands, and now they are missing.”
Samuel remembered two days ago when he had brought out his coin collection for Everett to see. At the end of that day, Samuel’s mother asked him to take a note to Mr. Bates down the street, so he asked his friend, “Is it okay if I leave you for a few minutes?” Everett had said, “Go ahead. I’ll clean up here,” pointing at the piles of coins on the floor. When Samuel had returned, he had done his homework, had eaten dinner, and had read for a while before bed. It was not until two days later that he realized the quarters were gone.
Emily said, “Why don’t you just ask him?” “Ask him what? Hey, Best Friend, did you steal my coin collection?” Samuel thought for a moment, deciding if that would be a good idea. The theft of his collection left him with a feeling of betrayal (背叛). “How could I have misjudged my friend?”
The next day Samuel went over to Everett’s house. Everett was acting funny. In fact, Samuel thought Everett was acting like someone with a secret. Suddenly, Everett cried, “I can’t stand it anymore!” and pulled something from underneath the chair. “Go on—open it! I was going to wait until your birthday tomorrow, but I can’t wait!”
Slowly, Samuel lifted the top of the box. Laid out in front of him were all of the quarters from his coin collection. Each quarter was in its own place in a new collection case. Each quarter shone like it was new.
Samuel felt heat rush over his neck and ears. He weakly said, “Thank you—this means... a great deal to me.” He was thankful that Everett had cut him off before he said something bad. Everett was exactly the type of person he wanted as a friend!
41. From Paragraph 1-3, we know that _________.
A. Samuel’s coins were missing B. Everett had stolen Samuel’s coins
C. Samuel has a bad memory D. Everett lives down the street
42. The word “misjudged” in Paragraph 3 means _________.
A. agreed with B. been wrong about
C. cared about D. been troubled by
43. What kind of person is Everett?
A. He makes quick decisions. B. He is not an honest boy.
C. He enjoys surprising his friends. D. He is helpful.
44. The story wants to tell us that _________.
A. trust is an important part of friendship
B. special interests make life more colorful
C. advice from family members can solve problems
D. friends enjoy giving surprising gifts to each other
The English language started about 1,500 years ago in England. Three groups of people came to the country. They were the Angles, the Saxons, and the Jutes. These three groups brought their languages with them to England-After some time, the three languages became one new-language-English. The name “English” comes from the Angles. They lived in most of England. “England” means “Angle Land” or “Country of the Angles”.
The language that we speak today－Modern English－is not the same as the English that people used many years ago, including Old English(before 1150)and Middle English(up till 1500).That language—Old English—sounds different, and it has some different rules of grammar. There were only a few thousand words in Old English. But Modern English does come from Old English, and it is still like it in many important ways.
25.How many languages did Old English come from？
A. One. B. Two. C. Three. D. Four.
26.Which language did the name “English” come from？
A. Modern English. B. The Angles. C. The Jutes. D. The Saxons.
27. According to the passage, Modern English differs from Old English in_______.
A. grammar B. pronunciation C. words D. All of the above
28.Which of the following is TRUE？
A. Modern English has nothing to do with Old English.
B. Modern English has more words than Old English.
C. Modern English has a vocabulary (词汇量) twice as large as Old English.
D. There is no difference between Old English and Middle English.
