The end of the year is drawing near, and winter is in full swing. The season brings along with it strong winds and snow — an environment that’s never comfortable to be in.
This unpleasant and even frightening aspect of winter can often be seen in literature. In Shakespeare’s King Lear (1606), the king has given away his kingdom and been rejected by his two ungrateful daughters. He is out in the winter cold，suffering things that are usually reserved for the poorest and most unfortunate human beings.
The winter is bad enough for Lear，but being abandoned by his family is worse. A song from another Shakespeare play, As You Like It(1599), is fitting for this poor old man's situation: "Blow，blow，thou winter wind/Thou art not so unkind /As ma's ingratitude (忘恩负义)". Here, winter is used to bring out the ugliness of inhumanity (无人性). There aren't many things that are worse than winter, according to Shakespeare.
Once winter became less of a threat to human beings, literary works featuring it became more positive. Since Charles Dickens, the representation of the season in literature has often featured happy Christmas celebrations.
The cold of the winter weather provides a contrast to the fun going on indoors.
Dickens' A Christmas Carol (1843) was the start of this, but Christmas is still a common, cheery element (元素)in stories that feature winter scenes today. Consider the joy felt by Harry Potter and his friends in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997) as they sit down for their festive meal：
"Harry had never in all his life had such a Christmas dinner. A hundred fat，roast turkeys; mountains of roast and boiled potatoes; platters of chipolatas; tureens of buttered peas, silver boats of thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce".
It is almost as much a pleasure to read about the meal as it might have been to eat it.
Although winter still isn’t the most cheerful season in novels and poems, it’s safe to say that writers have certainly "warmed up" since Shakespeare’s days.
1.What’s the author’s main purpose in writing this article?
A.To recommend some winter stories in literature.
B.To explain what winter is like in literary works.
C.To describe certain customs that are related to winter.
D.To tell us why winter is described as unpleasant in literature.
2.What can we learn from Shakespeare’s works?
A.Shakespeare didn’t like winter for its bad weather.
B.King Lear was forced to give up being a king in a cold winter.
C.It’s in winter when King Lear drove his two daughters off.
D.Winter is compared with the ugly side of humanity.
3.Why does the author mention Charles Dickens in the passage?
A.Because a lot of his works are related to winter.
B.Because he is the most popular author of winter stories.
C.Because he started a new way of representing winter.
D.Because his works make people feel cheerful in winter.
4.The example of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is used mainly to show .
A.traditional Christmas food makes the winter cheery
B.Christmas is still a symbol of joy in modern stories
C.it’s a pleasure to read Christmas-related books in winter
D.winter has become the happiest season in literary works
Festivals in India are the special occasions when the country holds many celebrations. Socially, the whole nation becomes active in celebrations. This is the main reason why festivals in India are celebrated by the whole society. On such occasions, families will get together, exchange gifts and greetings, and take part in a lot of celebrations and even special fairs. All these are done to keep the festive spirit alive in modern times.
What is special about these celebrations in India is that people celebrate their common culture in their communities. There is a wide variety of festivals in India because of the presence(存在)of many different religions, beliefs, ideas and cultures. It is even said that some places in the country celebrate festivals 365 days a year. They are mainly religious festivals, cultural festivals and tourist festivals that are organized to keep the traditions, values and heritage of the region.
Religious festivals are celebrated as part of the Indian belief system. They are organized to honor spiritual personalities and events related to the journey of a religion. Cultural festivals in India are organized to provide a platform for different forms of music, dance and other art. To keep their artistic traditions alive and even make them become more popular in the future, many cities in India are active in cultural events. The rich cultural heritage of India attracts the Western world during the celebration of important festivals such as Onam, Holi and Durga Puja. Tourist festivals in the country are organized to celebrate the heritage of the land for tourism purposes. These celebrations every year bring good results and attract a large number of tourists, both within the country and abroad.
These festivals in India focus on enriching people’s "Indian" experience in the most real way. For this purpose, foreigners are very interested in attending the festivals, which are organized to show the rich and colorful side of the country.
1.In India，the whole nation often celebrates festivals actively to .
A.have much fun on special occasions B.exchange special gifts and greetings
C.keep the traditions of their festivals D.meet all their family members and relatives
2.Why does India have so many festivals?
A.Because the Indians like singing and dancing.
B.Because the Indians want to attract more tourists.
C.Because there are a great number of old attractions.
D.Because there are many different religions, ideas and cultures.
3.The cultural festivals are usually celebrated by .
A.performing different art forms
B.visiting the famous old buildings
C.having a journey of honoring spiritual personalities
D.getting together and attending fairs
4.In which part of the website can we read this passage?
A.Travel. B.Culture.
C.Economy. D.Technology.
假定你是李华，你校国际部下周将在学校报告厅(auditorium)举办中华诗词大会(Chinese Poetry Conference)的国际学生专场，届时将比赛背诵古诗、回答问题、根据图画猜诗词。请根据下列要点给你的美国朋友、留学生Peter写一封信，邀请他参加。
内容要点如下：
1. 比赛的时间和地点；
2. 比赛的目的和形式；
3. 诚挚邀请Peter参赛。
要求：1. 词数100左右；
2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3. 开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Peter，
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours sincerely,
Li Hua
短文改错
One year ago, I had a special English lesson hold at the railway station. It was quite different from the regular English classes we were familiar to, for we had no textbooks, no blackboard and no fixed seats.
Gathered at the entrance of the station, we were told to collect many English words and sentences as possible there. Curious and excited, they walked around the station and looked everywhere, searching for any informations in English. Whenever an English word comes into sight, the class would burst into the cheers as if we had discovered a new world. With the Chinese translation and vividly pictures, we could figure out their meaning with ease.
Now, this unforgettable lesson still encourages me to be an active learner where I go.
语法填空
If you make a career choice while you are still in high school, you1.(save) time and money in the long run. Students who do not plan ahead may delay stating college or take extra courses2.( give) themselves time to make up their. minds. U. S. News and World Report say that the average yearly tuition at a four-year college is $ 35,000. If you spend3.extra year in school, you may have to take out additional4.(loan) or pay extra money to cover the cost.
Choosing a career while you are in high school also gives you time to explore your5.( choose)industry, If you find a career6.sounds interesting, you can follow someone in the field and see what it is7.(real) like to have that job. You can also apply8.a chance to get an informal position related to your desired industry. This will help you build a professional network even before you graduate from high school. Professional contact is very9.( value), especially when you are looking for a job in your field. If you do as much as you can to build a network10.you are ready for a job, you will be more likely to succeed.
Adventure is in my blood. And I had been considering how I was going to celebrate my high school graduation. I didn't just want a small _________ in the backyard, I started thinking about doing a solo（独自的）_________ somewhere out of the ordinary. I took out the _________ and drew a 1,500-mile route along which I would be _________ from the northernmost point in Norway to the southernmost section of Sweden. When I _________ my plan with my dad, he _________ as I thought he would. Because I get my adventurous _________ from him, he was all for it.
I had only been away from my _________ for three days, but there was an inner _________ going on. Part of me was homesick and doubting whether I really could _____________ it. The other part of me was ready to ___________ to myself and my family that I could do it by myself.
On the road, I met another ___________ who was quite a bit older than I was. He started his journey alone by ___________ at the southern part of Norway and just finished. I could tell he had a great sense of ___________. It encouraged me not to ___________.
As I listened to my ___________ artists on my MP4 player, I pedaled（踩踏板）with my feet. There was ___________ around me for miles. ___________, that wasn’t entirely true. There were mosquitoes millions of them. My arms were so dotted with ___________ that they looked like a topographical（地形的）map. But, however __________ it would be, nothing could stop my advance on the destination. As you know, adventure is in my blood.
1.A.party B.meeting C.conversation D.game
2.A.flight B.interview C.performance D.trip
3.A.instruction B.map C.magazine D.newspaper
4.A.walking B.flying C.cycling D.running
5.A.compared B.shared C.prepared D.changed
6.A.agreed B.sighed C.left D.cried
7.A.story B.spirit C.skill D.hobby
8.A.hotel B.school C.home D.office
9.A.battle B.activity C.request D.discussion
10.A.get B.make C.put D.take
11.A.turn B.reply C.prove D.adapt
12.A.driver B.jogger C.bicyclist D.pilot
13.A.bike B.car C.air D.sea
14.A.humor B.direction C.balance D.satisfaction
15.A.calm down B.break down C.speed up D.give up
16.A.favorite B.personal C.professional D.successful
17.A.nobody B.everybody C.anything, D.everything
18.A.Firstly B.Actually C.Eventually D.Fortunately
19.A.wounds B.cuts C.bites D.burns
20.A.boring B.confusing C.complex D.difficult
