（18）
Lauren,
As your big weekend is approaching, I find myself getting more and more worried that I might break down during my toast. So in advance, please accept this letter and these gifts. While I hope to share my feelings with everyone at the dinner, it‘s more important to me that you realize how much I love you and how proud I am of the amazing woman you have become.
My memory is usually terrible, but I will never forget how precious you were as a child. I loved cradling you in my arms, putting your sleepy body over my shoulder when you were too tired to walk, playing with you in the park, tossing (抛) you high in the air in the pool, and reading kids‘ books to you on the bookstore floor. You are thoughtful, sensitive, caring and loving. You were, and still are, an angel.
When I think of you as an adult, I think of your big heart. It‘s your heart that has brought meals to hungry kids, that has led you to become vegetarian, that helps you care for family and friends in need. For these reasons I have selected three hearts as a dad‘s gift to his soon-to-be-wedded daughter.
One heart is a locket (项链坠）with a picture of you and me together. It‘s a reminder that I love you and will love you forever.
The second heart is made of jade (碧玉) and bears the Chinese character ―Fu‖. Jade represents luck and ―Fu‖ means happiness. I want your life to be filled with both. David is a good man, a lucky man. When I see you together, I see happiness.
The third heart is just pretty and represents your beauty, inside and out.
The wedding will be amazing. I can‘t wait to see you walk down the aisle in your beautiful gown and dance with you in celebration. My hope is that it will bring lasting memories, like an epic (壮丽的) movie.
A father‘s greatest dream is for his child‘s life to be filled with joy. That is my hope for you and David.
From your devoted and proud Dad.
P.S. I can‘t wait to love your kids the way I love you. (373) 1. Why did the father write the letter to his daughter? A. He wanted to remind her of the gifts he had given her. B. He believed letters to be the best form of communication. C. He was afraid he might not be able to attend her wedding.
D. He wanted to express his love for her before she started her own family. 2. What does the underlined word ―cradling‖ in Paragraph 2 probably mean?
A. holding B. pushing C. putting up D. keeping moving 3. With the three hearts, the father intended to show _________.
A. Lauren was in his heart B. his many wishes for Lauren C. his appreciation for Lauren D. the memories he valued 4. What can we infer from the article?
A. The father made the gifts all by himself.
B. The father believed Lauren and David were a good match. C. The father wasn‘t sure Lauren‘s wedding was a good idea.
D. The father would do whatever he could to realize his daughter‘s wishes.
完形每日一练 19
It was yearbook day and we were given an hour to sign each other‘s yearbooks in the cafeteria. I was president of the class and I played sports. When I sat down at a table, people started to come over to get their yearbooks signed and to sign __36__. Among them, a weak boy with ugly teeth and thick glasses kept shaking. I had seen him around, and I knew he was always laughed at. He seemed __37__ of himself, and was so pale that it __38__ us to look at him. He came up and asked me nervously, ―Can you sign this?‖ I took his yearbook but I didn‘t know __39__ to write. I saw that there was the name ―Ricky Sanders‖ written on the front of it. So I wrote:
I put down the yearbook and turned around to get some signatures from some of my friends when I __40__ my yearbook was gone. I saw that Ricky had sat down with my yearbook. ―What are you doing?‖ I asked him. He looked up calmly(平静地) and __41__said ―Sign!‖
My friends broke into a loud laugh, and I saw that he was carefully trying to put a signature in my yearbook. He hadn‘t even finished the ―R‖ yet. I thought for a while and __42__ to let him sign. It took him nearly five minutes to sign and when I got my yearbook back, there was a very shaky ―RICKY‖. He hugged(紧抱) his yearbook and __43__. I couldn‘t help but smile back at him. In that moment, my __44__ changed completely. I gave him a high five and suddenly everyone at my table wanted his signature. He was asked politely to write in their yearbooks and the signature __45__ of his yearbook were filled up. He was smiling so big that it lit up the whole room. I changed school the next year, and I never saw Ricky again. However, I will never forget the day that he became the most __46__ guy in school. Whenever I‘m __47__, I still look back at that yearbook.
36. A. mine B. his C. ours D. theirs 37. A. unafraid B. unsure C. proud D. tired 38. A. worried B. surprised C. taught D. hurt 39. A. how B. which C. where D. what 40. A. saw B. noticed C. thought D. believed 41. A. still B. ever C. even D. just
42. A. decided B. meant C. began D. prepared 43. A. smiled B. waited C. left D. rose 44. A. sense B. value C. attitude D. idea 45. A. lists B. pages C. boxes D. tables 46. A. different B. patient C. popular D. important 47. A. away B. out C. behind D. down
（19）
Junk is everywhere, even in space. But getting rid of space junk is much harder than simply cleaning your bedroom. Space junk travels at 8 kilometers a second, according to an article in the Guardian. Catching it is a bit of a challenge.
Luckily, scientists at the Swiss space center have a new cleaning plan. They are about to send a ―cleaner satellite (卫星)‖ into space within the next five years. It will clean up space junk, according to a report in the Guardian.
Named ―CleanSpace One‖, the Swiss satellite finds its target (目标) and moves close to it. When it reaches its target, it will catch the junk with a gripping claw (抓手). This is not going to be an easy task because both the satellite and the junk are traveling so fast.
Once CleanSpace One has caught the junk, all it has to do to get rid of it is to fly back to Earth. This is because the junk will burn up when traveling through the atmosphere (大气层). The satellite itself will burn up at the same time.
Ever since people started to send objects into space more than 50 years ago, there has been junk in space. Junk on Earth like food wrappers (包装纸) or waste paper is also a problem. But space junk is mainly made up of exploded (炸碎的) rockets and broken satellites. If no one cleans them away, they just keep traveling around Earth.
So far, NASA has found 16,000 pieces of junk that are larger than 10cm in diameter (直径) and more than 500,000 pieces measuring between 1cm and 10cm. You can imagine how many even smaller ones there are in space.
Space junk is dangerous for spacecraft and the International Space Station. Even a very small piece could seriously damage – or even destroy – a satellite or spacecraft if it collided (碰撞) with the junk. The International Space Station has to regularly change its orbit (轨道) to avoid space junk.
Space junk might also be a danger to humans. During the last four months, three very large spacecraft have fallen to Earth. Fortunately, no one was hurt because the junk landed in the ocean. 1. According to the article, space junk _____. (371) A. travels at 8 kilometers per hour B. could be cleared away within five years C. travels at the same speed as satellites D. will cause a lot of trouble for space stations 2. What will happen to the space junk if it is not cleaned up?
A. It will explode in a few years. B. It will keep traveling around Earth. C. It will drift away from Earth eventually. D. It will gather and become a large mass. 3. Which of the following is TRUE about a ―cleaner satellite‖? A. Catching space junk is difficult for a satellite. B. The junk is dealt with after it reaches Earth.
C. The satellite can catch several pieces of junk at once.
D. The satellite goes back to space after it has finished its task. 4. Which of the following statements is TRUE? A. Space junk is harmless to people on Earth.
B. Space stations travel in the same orbit as the junk. C. The history of space junk dates back 50 years.
D. It‘s impossible to stop space junk from colliding with spacecrafts.
完形每日一练 20
“I can‘t believe what I‘m hearing!”I thought to myself. Jeff was the last candidate(候选人)for president of Student Council. My best friend Tony came to me and said,“I‘m sorry, Mike. I really thought you should be 36 .”
Later that day, I happened to pass Jeff in the dining room . I offered him a 37 ―congratulations‖ and walked to my usual table . To my surprise, Jeff put his plate beside mine.
―I‘m, er-I‘m just wondering if you would … consider coming to work on my team,‖ he said 38 , ―You are really smart, and you would be a great manager.‖ ―I don‘t think so,‖ I replied , feeling unsure.
―Well, if you change your mind, we are meeting tomorrow,‖ he said before moving to another table.
All that night, I thought about the 39 from Jeff. Maybe being a part of the election process（选举过程）would give 40 a chance to make important changes at our school. I decided to join them.
My first goal was to 41 a catchy advertisement. Within a few days, we designed a poster with Jeff‘s pictures showing him in a number of activities. No one could walk through any hallway 42 passing Jeff‘s smiling face.
My next step was to 43 which new activities students would like to have at our school. Many of them wanted a chess club and a volleyball team.
With the information I had collected, Jeff met with the headmaster. The headmaster 44 to add these activities to our school program.
With my help, Jeff and our ideas were well 45 at school.
An eighth grader said, ―It‘ll be like attending a new school with Jeff as president,‖
Hearing these words made my heart filled with 46 . I had wanted to become president of Student Council to make a difference. I achieved that and more by working as a member of Jeff‘s team. He became the most popular candidate and I was a large part of his 47 . The fact that it has made a difference in other people‘s lives is the real prize. What a great feeling! 36. A .heard B. chosen C. invited D. followed 37. A. polite B. loud C. warm D. cheerful 38. A. proudly B. quickly C. nervously D. regretfully 39. A. advice B. chance C. message D. offer 40. A. them B. him C. me D. us 41. A. print B. invent C. create D. send 42. A. for B. from C. with D. without 43. A. carry out B. try out C. work out D. find out 44. A. agreed B. wanted C. expected D. asked 45. A. allowed B. received C. introduced D. required 46. A. pride B. surprise C. patience D. hope 47. A. luck B. spirit C. life D. success
（20）
Yawning (打哈欠) sends out certain messages – it can be either ―oh, this movie is so boring‖ or ―I probably need to get some sleep‖. But did you know that a yawn can also help your brain to cool down when it is overheated?
A new study, led by Andrew Gallup from Princeton University and Omar Eldakar from the University of Arizona, both in the US, has indicated (表明) that yawning could be the brain‘s natural way of regulating (调节) temperature. People yawn more often when the temperature outdoors is lower than their body temperature but are less likely to yawn when it is hotter outdoors, according to Sciencedaily.com.
The research team did an experiment on 160 people, 80 in summer and 80 in winter, to examine how often they yawned at different air temperatures. The study found that people yawned more often in winter than in summer. Scientists say that when the air temperature is lower outside the body, there is heat exchange between the overheated brain and the cool air. But when the air temperature is higher than or equal to the body, people are less likely to yawn because the hot air they breathe in will make the brain even hotter.
When people yawn, their jaw (颌骨) is also stretched (拉伸), which enhances (增强) blood flow and may also help cool the brain.
The study showed that the amount someone yawned could be related to the amount of time they spent outside. The longer people spent outside in summer, the less they yawned. Nearly 40 percent of participants yawned within their first five minutes outside, but after that the percentage (比例) was reduced to less than 10 percent.
However, the result was the opposite in winter. The number of people who yawned increased when they spent more than five minutes outdoors. But the change was only slight compared to summertime.
According to Gallup, this is the first report to show that yawning frequencies (频率) change depending on season. This could help us to better understand the way our brains work. It may also help us understand the reason why frequent yawning can sometimes be a sign of brain disease.(369) 1. We can learn from the article that _______.
A. people yawn when they feel exhausted B. people yawn so their brains can get a rest
C. people yawn more in cold weather D. people stop yawning when they move outdoors 2. What can we conclude from the new study?
A. The longer people spend outside in winter, the less they yawn. B. People have different yawning frequencies in different seasons. C. Yawning is designed to help the body cool down in hot weather.
D. The study showed a bigger change in yawning frequencies in winter than in summer. 3. When people yawn, _______.
A. their brains feel cooler B. their blood flow slows down C. their brains feel more energetic D. they avoid feeling bored 4. Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. Yawning often means something is wrong with the brain. B. Stopping yawning halfway harms the human brain. C. Yawning reduces the risk of brain disease.
D. People are advised to stay indoors more if they yawn a lot.