How to Be Creative
Most of us think that creativity is a quality belonging only to artists，writers，or dancers，rather than ourselves.1. The following tips are a great beginning for developing our creativity.
1．Get out of your comfort zone
We eagerly accept the familiar and fear the unknown. Break out of your usual patterns and welcome creativity into your life. As stated earlier，the human brain was designed to recognize patterns.2. In fact，our comfort zone is nothing more than a collection of patterns. As we become more efficient at recognizing and using patterns，we rely less on creativity to find new paths. We should force ourselves out of our comfort zones and open up new possibilities.
2．Try different things
If you always do what you've always done，you'll always get what you've always got. We are creatures of habits and routines，and creativity hates routines. If you usually drive to work，take the subway for a few days.3. Interrupt your routine，experiment and try something new. New things are often creative，but the same old thing never is.
3．4.
Having a great idea is not enough；you must work to make it a reality. Have you ever seen a new product and realized that you thought of the same thing long ago？Yet someone else is making money with “your” idea.5. The difference between a dreamer and a doer is action. Do whatever it takes to bring your ideas to life. If you can put them into practice，you are well on your way to improving your creativity in all areas of your life.
A．Take action
B．Seek several options
C．Think from the other person's point of view.
D．If you normally eat in the office，have lunch under a tree.
E．The truth is that we are all born with the capacity to be creative.
F．We continue to create patterns and routines for almost everything we do.
G．We all have great ideas sometimes，but only a few people turn their ideas into realities.
It was August in the US，and the school year had just started，when one parent received an unexpected phone call.
Stacie Dunn had been called to Woodford County High School because her teenage daughter had been caught going against the dress rules. But the offense left Dunn shocked.
She arrived to find her daughter in a set of pretty ordinary clothes：a cardigan，a tank top and jeans. The trouble，administrators indicated，lay with her daughter's exposed collarbone (锁骨)．Bare shoulders and naked collarbones are illegal under Woodford County High School's dress rules. Students who break these rules can receive detention (the punishment of being kept at school for a time after school)—or after multiple violations (违纪)，be prevented from going to school entirely.
Dunn was very shocked and angry.“Parents are being called away from their important jobs，and students are missing important class time because they are showing their collarbones，” she wrote on the social media site Facebook，attaching a picture of her daughter in the offending clothes.“Something needs to change！”
Dress rules vary by school districts and are often decided by teachers and school administrators. Yoga pants and skinny jeans are banned. Certain dress rules also require kneelength pants and skirts.
Some school administrators argue they are simply supporting having a professional standard of dress to prepare their students for their future careers. But others have told students that their clothes present a “distraction” to others.
Certain schools have chosen to reevaluate their dress rules，with input from parents and students. Even Woodford County High School—home of the “collarbone” ban—is reconsidering its policies this month. But，at_least_for_now，the_dress_rule_debate_is_far_from_over.
1.Why was Stacie Dunn called to Woodford County High School?
A. Her daughter went to school with bare shoulders.
B. Her daughter broke her collarbone.
C. Her daughter broke the dress rules of the school.
D. Her daughter received detention.
2.Under the dress rules，which of the following clothes are acceptable?
A. Skinny jeans B. Long skirts.
C. Yoga pants. D. Short pants.
3.How did Stacie Dunn respond to being called to school?
A. She wasn't in favor of what the school did.
B. She turned to Facebook for help.
C. She bought a standard dress for her daughter.
D. She accused the school of wasting her time.
4.The underlined sentence in the last paragraph indicates that ________．
A. the debate between parents and students will never be over
B. few schools will take measures to change their policy
C. the problem of “clothes distractions” will last
D. the argument on what to wear and how to dress will continue
Whether it is Mozart or Miley，your choice of music could determine whether you will perform well at your job. A new study suggests that listening to music in the office improves the speed and accuracy of tasks such as data entry，proofreading and problem solving. an officebased experiment，88 percent of participants were found to produce their most accurate work when listening to music.
The study also found that 81 percent completed their work fastest when music was played. And it matters what type of music you listen to. For instance，if you're doing your tax returns，then classical music is the most effective as it improves maths skills.
Listening to Jessie J or Justin Bieber could also improve your speed，with 58 percent of participants completing data entry tasks faster while listening to pop songs. During proofreading，dance music，such as David Guetta，had the biggest positive impact with participants increasing their speed by 20 percent compared to tests undertaken with no music at all. Dance music also had a positive effect on spellchecking with a 75 percent pass rate compared to 68 percent when no music was played at all.
The research，undertaken by Brightonbased Mindlab International，suggests that silent offices may be the least productive. The Music Works experiment revealed a positive correlation between music and productivity. Overall，it showed that when listening to music，nine out of ten people performed better，said Dr David Lewis，chairman of Mindlab International.
1.Whose music can help you do maths homework according to the study?
A. The music of Justin Bieber.
B. The music of Mozart.
C. The music of David Guetta.
D. The music of David Lewis.
2.Which of the following is NOT mentioned according to the passage?
A. Music makes you relaxed.
B. Music helps you to enter data faster.
C. Music improves maths skills.
D. Music has a positive effect on spellchecking.
3.The result of the experiment showed that when music was played，________．
A. 88% of people worked faster
B. 81% of people did their most accurate work
C. 90% of people worked better
D. 75% of people completed data entry task faster
4.What can we conclude from the passage?
A. Music may be helpless to people in office.
B. Silent offices can make people work better.
C. Different kinds of music have the same effect.
D. Silent offices may make people work least profitably.
Last year I ruined my summer vacation by bringing along a modern convenience that was too convenient for my own good：the iPad. Instead of looking at nature，I checked my email. Instead of paddling a small boat，I followed my Twitter feed (推特简讯)．Instead of reading great novels，I stuck to reading four newspapers each morning. I was behaving as if I were still in the office. My body was on vacation，but my head wasn't.
So this year I made up my mind to try something different: withdraw (退出) from the Internet. I knew it wouldn't be easy，since I'm bad at selfcontrol. But I was determined. I started by giving the iPad to my wife.
The cellphone signal at our house was worse than in the past，making my attempts at cheating an experience in frustration (沮丧)．I was trapped，forced to go through with my plan. Largely cut off from email，Twitter and my favorite newspaper websites，I had few ways to connect to the world except for the radio—and how much radio can one listen to，really？I had to do what I had planned to do all along：read books.
This experience has had a happy ending. With determination and the strong support of my wife，I won in my vacation struggle against the Internet，realizing finally that it was I，not the iPad，that was the problem. I knew I had won when we passed a Starbucks and my wife asked if I wanted to stop to use the Wifi.“I don't need it，” I said.
However，as we return to postvacation life，a harder test begins：can I continue when I'm back at work?
There are times when the compulsion to know what's being said right now is great. I have no intention of giving up my convenience completely. But I hope to resist the temptation (诱惑) to check my email every five minutes，which leads to check my Twitter feed and a website or two.
I think a vacation is supposed to help you reset your brain to become more productive. Here I hope this one worked.
1.What do we know about the author's last summer vacation?
A. He was determined to enjoy the beautiful view.
B. His iPad ruined his plan of finishing a great novel.
C. He felt satisfied that he had stuck to his usual timetable.
D. He hated himself for acting as if he were working on vacation.
2.What did the author do to keep away from the Internet this year?
A. He handed his iPad to his wife.
B. He cut off his cellphone signal.
C. He refused to cheat in his house.
D. He listened to the radio most of the time.
3.When back at work，the author will probably choose to ________．
A. stay away from the Internet forever
B. continue to read more and more books
C. keep control of when and how to use the Internet
D. stop checking what is being said right now completely
4.What is the author's opinion of a great vacation in the passage?
A. A vacation is having nothing to do but read all day.
B. A vacation proves that a life of pleasure is overvalued.
C. A vacation is a period of time to do whatever one wishes to.
D. A vacation means a change of pace to make one more creative.
Listed here are four of the thousands of impressive museums around the world.
The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Bilbao，Spain
Built in 1997，the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is one of the newest in the world.It has transformed the industrial city of Bilbao into a travelers' desired destination.The beautiful architecture of the museum has provided a dramatic background for movies and commercials.
The Louvre in Paris，France
Probably the most famous Louvre also holds the most famous painting in the world，the “Mona Lisa” by Leonardo da Vinci.Crowds can be found any day surrounding the small，but mysterious painting of the smiling woman.But，the Louvre is much more than a home to the “Mona Lisa”．The Louvre is visited by more people each year than any other museum in the world.
The Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia，America
Just opened in its new downtown location in 2012，the Barnes Foundation is “unique”in that it is a completely reproduced display from one man's private collection.Dr.Albert C．Barnes started collecting art in the early 20th century and collected，among others，the largest number of original Renoir paintings in the world.
The Uffizi Gallery in Florence，Italy
Walking on the marbled floors feels like stepping back in time.The building itself is a beautiful palace—like structure with frescoes(湿壁画) decorating the ceilings and walls.Viewers are bowled over(印象深刻) by the works by Botticelli，such as “The Birth of Venus”．Classic artworks from nearly 1，000 years ago describe religious events of the time.
1.Which of the following is the most popular?
A. The Louvre.
B. The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.
C. The Barnes Foundation.
D. The Uffizi Gallery.
2.What makes the Barnes Foundation particular?
A. Its structure. B. Its collection.
C. Its location. D. Its history.
3.What type of writing is this text?
A. An activity poster.
B. An exhibition announcement.
C. An art show review.
D. A travel guide.
假如你是李华，你的美国朋友Tom听说在中国通过扫描二维码（scan QR codes）就可以轻松实现移动支付（mobile payment），感到不可思议。请你写封邮件告知移动支付在中国的相关情况。内容包括：
1. 移动支付在日常生活中的功能；
2. 移动支付对我们生活的影响。
注意:
1. 词数100左右。
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Tom,
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
