英语时报阅读练习2VIP

Pencil drawing They look like real black and white photos But in fact they are all drawings by Paul Cadden a Scottish 苏格兰的 artist He travels around the world and takes thousands of photos When he returns home he draws on a piece of paper using only a pencil It sometimes takes Mr Cadden more than three months to complete one painting or drawing All of his pictures are about ordinary people doing everyday things He wants to show a real world to people Once he travelled to China and stayed in Hong Kong for three weeks In one painting he drew a man walking in the street in Hong Kong Questions 1 Where does Paul Cadden come from 2 What does Paul Cadden draw Eat with Moomin Do you feel uncomfortable eating in a restaurant on your own How about dining with a big Moomin sitting in front of you A restaurant in Tokyo 东京 called The Moomin Caf puts Moomin toys in front of diners to make them feel less uncomfortable Customers can also choose other toys to sit with Another new Moomin caf has been opened in New York City recently Moomin is from a famous Finnish 芬兰的 story book Since the first Moomin book was published 出版 in1945 more than15million Moomin books have been sold around the world The stories have also been made into television series and films Question When was the first Moomin book published Upside down house China s first upside down house opened its doors to visitors in Shanghai The house is made of wood There are three rooms inside the house In the rooms everything is upside down Tables chairs sofas and beds are placed on the ceiling And the lights are on the floor A beautiful garden is built in front of the house The house is not very big Only twenty people can go into the house at a time People get into the house from a window Workers started to build the house in November last year It is located in Fengjing Ancient Town 枫泾古镇 in Shanghai Questions 1 How many people can go into the upside down house at a time 2 Where is the upside down house 3 What is inside the dogs washroom Match the idioms on the left with their meanings on the right 1 from soup to nuts a anxious or tense 2 a bookworm b stop doing something that is annoying 3 to read between the lines C to be on your best behavior 4 the pot calling the kettle black d to pay attention to what is implied 5 on pins and needles e everything is included 6 mind your Ps and Qs f someone who reads a lot 7 a couch potato g someone who spends too much time 8 Cut it out watching TV h to criticize others for a fault that you possess Everyone Can Play A t a fundraising dinner for an American school that serves learning disabled children the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who at tended He told the audience a story about his son Shay who was physically and mentally handicapped 残疾的 when he came into the world One day Shay and his father walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball Shay asked Do you think they ll let me play Shay s father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play it would give him a much needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps Shay s father approached one of the boys on the field and asked if Shay could play not expecting much The boy looked around for guidance and said We re losing by six runs 跑垒 得分 and the game is in the eighth inning 局 I guess he can be on our team in the ninth inning Shay struggled over to the team s bench putting on a team shirt with a broad smile His father had a small tear in his eye and warmth in his heart In the bottom of the eighth inning Shay s team scored a few runs but was still behind by three In the top of the ninth inning Shay put on a glove and played in right field 右外野 Reading check Pre reading 1 Can the disabled do what normal people do 2 How should we treat the disabled While reading 1 What would Shay get if he were al lowed to play baseball 2 When did Shay enter the field and play for his team 3 Why did the pitcher move in a few steps to throw the ball 4 What happened at the end of the baseball game Kite festival Recently the International Kite Festival was held in Weifang Shandong province 山 东省潍坊市 It attracted 100teams from more than60countries More than1 100kites were flown at the festival Jo Baker from Australia had taken part in the festival four times He said I love making kites and flying kites I have made a lot of friends at the festival They give me new ideas and I learn from them Weifang is famous for kites It is the birthplace of Chinese kite culture The Weifang International Kite Festival started in1984 It has successfully been held for31years Questions 1 How many kites were flown at the festival 2 When did the Weifang International Kite Festival start Washroom for dogs Dogs have their own washroom An American airport has designed 设计 a special washroom for dogs There is a small box in the dogs washroom There is grass inside the box together with a mini fire hydrant After the dogs have used the washroom owners can press the red button 按钮 on the wall Then the fire hydrant will spray 喷射 water on the grass to keep it clean This special washroom is for guide dogs in the airport It is welcomed by dogs and dog owners because it is clean and convenient 方便的 In the future we may see this kind of washroom in streets Questions What can dogs do in the fun park The man doing housework Once there was a farmer who was always criticizing his wife One day his wife got so angry with him that she said I m going to work in the fields You can do my work in the house Let s see how well you do it The man s first task was to make the butter The work soon made him thirsty so he went down to the cellar 地窖 to drink some wine While he was opening the barrel 桶 he heard the pig come into the house and knock over the butter dish He ran back upstairs to stop the pig from doing more damage forgetting to put the cork 软木塞 back in the wine barrel As a result wine spilled 溢出 all over the floor By the time he had chased the pig out of the kitchen it was lunchtime He started to boil the soup and then remembered that he had not fed the cow yet There wasn t enough time to take the cow out to the field so he decided to take it onto the roof There it could eat the grass that grew among the tiles 瓦片 It wasn t easy getting the cow onto the roof but at last he succeeded To make sure it didn t fall off he tied it to the chimney with a rope He had just finished doing this when he remembered the soup To get to the kitchen quickly he decided to go down through the chimney He tied one end of the rope to his foot and the other end to the cow He had just reached the kitchen when the cow slipped 滑倒 and fell off the roof The man was pulled back up the chimney and got stuck 卡住 there When the woman came home she saw the cow hanging in the air so she cut off the rope Then she entered the house and saw the butter on the ground Reading check I True or false 1 The man always complained about his wife 2 The man went down to the cellar to make the butter 3 The man didn t feed the cow before lunchtime 4 There was grass growing on the roof of the farmer s house 5 When he was feeding the cow the man slipped and fell off the roof II Questions for further understanding 1 Why did the man decide to go down through the chimney 2 What did the woman do first when she came home 3 What can we learn from the story The Cab Ride I ll Never Forget I arrived at the address and honked 鸣响 the horn After waiting a few minutes I honked again Since this was going to be my last ride of my shift 班 I thought about just driving away but in stead I put the car in park and walked up to the door and knocked Just a minute answered a frail elderly voice I could hear something being dragged across the floor After a long pause the door opened A small woman in her90s stood before me By her side was a small suitcase I took the suitcase to the cab then returned to assist the woman She kept thanking me for my kindness It s nothing I told her I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother to be treated Oh you re such a good boy she said When we got in the cab she gave me an address and then asked Could you drive through down town It s not the shortest way I answered quickly Oh I don t mind she said I min no hurry I m on my way to a hospice 临终关怀医院 I looked in the rear view mirror Her eyes were glistening I don t have any family left she continued in a soft voice The doctor says I don t have very long I quietly reached over and shut off the meter 计价器 What route would you like me to take I asked For the next two hours we drove through the city She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived before Sometimes she d ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness saying nothing When the sun went down she suddenly said I m tired Let s go now We drove in silence to the address she had given me It was a low building like a small convalescent home 疗养院 Two order lies 护工 came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up They were solicitous 关心的 and intent watching her every move They must have been expecting her I opened the trunk 后备箱 and took the small suitcase to the door The woman was already seated in a wheelchair How much do I owe you she asked reaching into her purse Nothing I said You have to make a living she answered There are other passengers I responded Almost without thinking I bent and gave her a hug She held onto me tightly Yo