三．阅读理解 Passage 1
College is a new and different experience for me. I’m away from home, so I have many things to adjust to, for example, being on my own and talking with friendlypeople. These are some of the things I like about college.
First of all, living at college gives me a sense of responsibility, of being on my own. My parents aren’t around to say, “No, you’re not going out tonight.” or “Did youfinish your homework?” Everything I do has to be my decision, and that makes me responsible for my own life. During the second week I was at college, I had to go out and look for a bank where I could open an account. And when I got to the bank, I had to decide whether to have a savings or current account and whether or not to get a credit card. Decisions! Decisions!
Friendly people, that’s another thing I like about college. On my first day, I came to Marymount University here in Virginia from New York. I was a bit confused about where I was going. My mother and I drove in. We did not know the building we were supposed to go to, but the guard was very nice. With a smile, he told us what building we were looking for and where we could park our car. My room was on the first floor of Gerard Phelan, and I knew I had to go through some glass doors, but my mother and I didn’t know which ones. Some students saw me and asked,“Are you a new student?”When they found out I was looking for Gerard Phelan, one said,“Oh, just follow us; that’s where we’re going.”Even now I feel comfortable in the dorm because there are friendly people around to talk with.
I do like a lot of things about college, but that doesn’t mean I don’t think about things at home. Although I like college, I can still get homesick: My hometown is a very good place, too!
阅读理解 Passage 2
As the starting gun of the men’s 100-meter final at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics was fired, the seven men rushed to the finish line. Among them, only one had yellow skin. He was 32-year-old Su Bingtian. He finished sixth with a time of 9.98 seconds. Two hours ago, in the semifinal, he got a time of 9.83 seconds, setting a new Asian record, and making himself the first Asian to reach the men’s 100-meter final at the Olympics in 89 years.
Back in 2012 at the London Olympics, Su ran alongside Usain Bolt in a 100-meter heat. Although Su started off faster than the world record holder, Bolt ran past him after the first 20 meters. It was at this moment that Su realized that he needed to change his strategy, even though he was seen as an experienced runner. “In 100-meter races, when you reach a certain level, you find that running is not only about your body, but more importantly about your technique,” he said.
In late 2014, after consulting experts, Su started kicking off his run by putting his left foot on the front of the starting block instead of his right foot. It was an extremely difficult switch. “It is like you were used to eating with your right hand, and now you have to use the left one,” he said. However, the change in the starting foot helped
him become the first Asian-born sprinter to finish the 100-meter race in under 10 seconds.
In 2017, Su and his American coach Randy Huntington began to work together. “He has plenty of gas in the tank to get him to Tokyo. And I’m not killing him in training. So his body is not getting beat up. So that’s preparing it for Tokyo,” said Huntington.
In 2018, Su got a time of 9.91 seconds twice. But years of training and competitions have inevitably resulted in injuries, making him suffer 18 months of setbacks after the World Championships in Doha the following year. The idea of retirement came to his mind, but his will to keep running was stronger. This willpower helped him to approach his Olympic dream step by step. He never gave up. In the end, he smiled as he found himself at the starting line of the Olympic finals.
As we saw at the beginning of this article, scientific training and strong willpower eventually paid off. From breaking the national record at the age of 22, to taking on challenges at the age of 30, and finally to setting a new Asian record at the age of 32, Su continues to make China proud. He has made history through scientific training and willpower.
阅读理解Passage 3
Working from home comes with some additional benefits. You enjoy a better work-lifebalance, don't have to commute to the office and get to work in casual clothes if you want.Designing your home office space can produce a positive effect, too-if you're not stuck in acrowded room all day. Here are two ideas to help you design the ultimate home office.
Choose your color. While some people like bright colors, you might not want to see yellowor green every day. Paint your office walls in a neutral (中性) color to give your eyes a break.You should also avoid darker colors, which tend to make small spaces look even smaller.
This doesn't mean your home office needs to be completely neutral. Add something like aframed art.
Play with natural light. You might push your desk into a dark corner, creating an officecubicle (隔间). Working in a small space can make your home office feel much more oppressivethan it needs to be.
Instead, look for areas where natural light flows in your homes. Move your desk close towindows while keeping it parallel to them to reduce glare (刺眼的光). You can also add curtainsto help you manage the amount of light that enters your workspace each day, particularly around lunch time.
阅读理解Passage 4
In 1939, two brothers,Mac and Dick McDonald, started a drive-in restaurant in San Bernadino,California. They carefully chose a busy corner for their location. They had run their own businesses foryears, first a theater, then a barbecue(烤肉)restaurant，then another drive-in. But in their new operation,they offered a new, shortened menu: French fries, hamburgers, and sodas. To this small selection they addedone new concept: quick service, no waiters or waitresses, and no tips. Their hamburgers sold for fifteencents. Cheese was another four cents. Their French fries and hamburgers had a remarkable uniformity, forthe brothers had developed a strict routine for the preparation of their food, and they insisted on their cooks'sticking to their routine. Their new drive-in became incredibly popular, particularly for lunch.
People droveup by the hundreds during the busy noon time. The self-service restaurant was so popular that the brothershad allowed ten copies of their restaurant to be opened. They were content with this modest success untilthey met Ray Kroc.
Kroc was a salesman who met the McDonald brothers in 1954, when he was selling milkshake-mixing machines. He quickly saw the unique appeal of the brothers’fast-food restaurants and boughtthe right to franchise(特许经营)other copies of their restaurants. The agreement struck included the right toduplicate the menu. The equipment，even their red and white buildings with the golden arches(拱门).
Today McDonald’s is really a household name. Its names for its sandwiches have come to meanhamburger in the decades since the day Ray Kroc watched people rush up to order fifteen-cent hamburgers.In 1976,McDonald’s had over $1billion in total sales. Its first twenty-two years is one of the most incrediblesuccess stories in modern American business history.