The boy sat on his chair, with his hand above the keyboard. He thought about what to write.
He recalled that the competition deadline was merely a week away. But he still had not even started on his piece. He looked at the brochure again. “ WRITING COMPETITION!” the title read. His mom had encouraged him to enter the writing competition, and now he was taking it on as his personal task for the holidays.
As the boy reflected on his previous writing efforts, he realized how hopeless his task of winning was. Every story he ever wrote was based on other stories. He had little imagination, and unfortunately, imagination was the key to writing.
Suddenly, he had a brainwave. This time, he came up with an original and imaginative story.
The words shot towards him like a storm of leaves. Words were coming easily, flowing through him, faster than he could type. He typed faster than he ever had before. He continued to type, amazed at how easy writing this story was. The boy could not stop writing. He looked at the word count and saw the number “ 248 ” staring right back at him. He was not even halfway yet.
Then he heard the call of his mother saying time for bed. He continued writing the piece, ignoring her. He had to make up for the time he had lost thinking about a topic to write.
Finally, he finished. The word count now read “498”.
“Perfect,” he thought, “just under the word limit.” He knew this was the story that would win.
He went onto Google and searched for the competition. He found the page but there was no “Enter” button.
1.What caused the boy to take part in the writing competition?
A. A new computer. B. The prize money.
C. His own interest. D. His mom’s advice.
2.How did the boy finish his earlier writing?
A. His mom helped him. B. He copied others’ ideas.
C. His friends assisted him. D. He used his imagination.
3.Why did the boy delay his writing?
A. Because he was terribly lazy. B. Because he didn’t know what to write.
C. Because he wasn’t confident. D. Because he read too many stories.
4.Which might be the maximum word limit for each entry?
A. 100. B. 250.
C. 500. D. 1000.
While smartphones stand accused of a variety of crimes, these pocket computers can certainly be a force for good. Your phone is always with you, making it the perfect device to push you into a more beneficial way of living. Here are some of the best apps that can help.
Habitica
Habitica turns the goal of forming good habits into a game, with its own characters and scoring. It’s a lot of fun，and the app also lets you build habits with friends and family. In addition to regular repeating habits, you can add a more general to-do list, and the rewards you get can be customized too — you could treat yourself to a meal out or an extra hour of games.
Smoke Free
If you’ve got a specific habit in mind，then you’ll usually find specific apps to help, like Smoke Free. If you’re determined to give up smoking, then this is one of the most comprehensive apps for giving you that extra push you need to make a permanent change. The app offers a host of useful features for people wanting to go smoke-free ： The ability to see your progress over time，charts showing how your health is improving，day-by-day encouragement， and some advice on techniques for giving up smoking.
MyFitnessPal
You can find a ton of health and fitness apps for your phone, but MyFitnessPal stands out not just because it is easy to use, but because it makes practical suggestions for you. It can take in a host of data, from the calories (卡路里)you’re taking in to the number of swims you’re doing per week, and offer reports on calorie consumption and macronutrient (大量营养素） breakdown.
1.What can Habitica help you to do?
A. Win a tough game. B. Start a lasting friendship.
C. Find a fancy restaurant. D. Develop a pleasant habit.
2.Which of the following can Smoke Free provide?
A. The freedom to smoke. B. The ability to make progress.
C. Advice on how to quit smoking. D. Charts about your excellent health.
3.What can we learn about the three apps mentioned in the text?
A. They’re cheap. B. They’re practical.
C. They’re free. D. They’re interesting.
Directions: Write an English composition in 120-150 words according to the instructions given below in Chinese.
假设你将组织本班的毕业聚会，谈谈你的具体设想并说明理由。
内容必须包括:
1. 明确聚会将在何时，何地，以何种形式举行
2. 简述你的理由
(文中不得出现真实姓名和学校名称)
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Directions: Translate the following sentences into English, using the words given in the brackets.
1.那时，各种问题层出不穷。 (arise)
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2.中央电视台网络直播了这次重要的国际会议。 (live)
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3.这些难民不应该成为移民，因为他们最终将回到自己的国家去。 (since)
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4.这项工程须等到所有的准备工作就绪才能开工，这叫按规律办事。 (which)
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Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.
Should some books be banned from school libraries?
Are there Harry Potter books in your school library? Many kids all over the world are reading J. K. Rowling's books in school. But some parents think their children shouldn't be able to find those and other books in school libraries. Should school libraries keep books that some parents don't approve of? Should they take those books off the shelves? All over the country, schools are wrestling with those questions.
It’s true that some hold their argument that some books should be banned from school libraries! "We need certain limits," said one student in Denver, Colorado. He said some books have no place in school libraries. Many people believe that books that contain violence or bad words shouldn't be in schools. Some people want the Harry Potter books removed because they contain talk about wizards and magic.
Most parents know what's good for kids. They have a right to decide which books should or should not be in school libraries.
Books should meet certain standards before they are put in schools. Is this a good book for kids to read? Is it full of violence? Does it contain bad words or ideas kids shouldn't learn about? If a book is not good for all kids, it should not be in a school library. Most parents don't have time to find out everything their kids read. They should be able to trust schools to do that for them.
On the other hand, some believe that books should not be banned from school libraries! "Parents should decide what their own kids read," said Natalie Nicol, of Denver, Colorado. But other parents shouldn't make that choice for them. Many experts say that it's the parents' job, not the school's job, to check out what their kids are reading. If they don't like a book, they should not let their kids read it.
Why should a few parents stop kids from reading stories like the Harry Potter series? Kids should be able to check out books their parents think are OK to read. Many schools let kids borrow certain books if they have a signed paper from a parent. That works fine. A parent doesn't sign the paper if he or she doesn't want the child to read the book. Other kids can read the books if they have permission.
Some books are not OK for all kids to read. But if more adults were careful about what their own kids read, they wouldn't have to ban books from the library.
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Directions: Read the passage carefully. Fill in each blank with a proper sentence given in the box. Each sentence can be used only once. Note that there are two more sentences than you need.
Many people know that trash is a big problem on planet Earth. What many people don’t know is that trash has become a problem in outer space too. 1.
Statistically, there are more than 22,000 pieces of junk in space around the earth. And these are just the items that we can see from the surface of the earth by telescopes or radars. 2.
Objects, like bits of old space rockets or satellites, move around the planet at very high speeds, so fast that even a very small piece can break important satellites or become dangerous to people, particularly astronauts. If the tiniest piece of junk crashed into a spacecraft, it could damage the vehicle. That’s because the faster an object moves, the greater the impact if the object collides with something else.
To help minimize additional space junk, countries around the world have agreed to limit the time their space tools stay in orbit to 25 years. Each tool must be built to fall safely into the earth’s atmosphere, or the mass of gases that surround the earth, after that. 3.
Many scientists are also proposing different ways to clean up space junk. The Germans have been planning a space mission with robots that would collect pieces of space trash and bring them back to Earth so that they can be safely destroyed.
"In our opinion the problem is very challenging, and it's quite urgent as well," said Marco Castronuovo, an Italian Space Agency researcher who is working to solve the problem. 4. Many of these objects are tools that help people use their cell phones or computers.
"The time to act is now; as we go farther in time we will need to remove more and more fragments," he says.
A. One reason that it’s urgent is that countries are sending more and more objects into space.
B. There are also millions of smaller pieces of junk that we can’t see.
C. Blowing up older satellites with a missile may create thousands of smaller pieces!
D. In the upper parts of the atmosphere, it will burn up.
E. When two objects in space collide, the two objects break into many smaller pieces.
F. Years of space exploration have left tons of “space junk” in orbit around the planet.
