I was 16 years old the day I skipped school for the first time. It was easily done: Both my parents left for work before my school bus arrived, so when it showed up at my house on that cold winter morning, I simply did not get on. The perfect crime!
And what did I do with myself on that glorious stolen day, with no adult in charge and no limits on my activities? Did I get high? Hit the mall for a shoplifting extravaganza (狂欢)?
Nope. I built a warm fire in the wood stove, prepared a bowl of popcorn, grabbed a blanket, and read. I was thrilled and transported by a book—it was Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises—and I just needed to be alone with it for a little while. I ached to know what would happen to Jake Barnes and Lady Brett Ashley and Robert Cohn. I couldn’t bear the thought of sitting in a classroom taking another biology exam when I could be traveling through Spain in the 1920s with a bunch of expatriates (异乡客).
I spent that day lost in words. Time fell away, as the room around me turned to mist, and my role –as a daughter, sister, teenager, and student— in the world no longer had any meaning. I had accidentally come across the key to perfect happiness: I had become completely absorbed by something I loved.
Looking back on it now, I can see that some subtle things were happening to my mind and to my life while I was in that state of absorption. Hemingway’s language was quietly braiding itself into my imagination. I was downloading information about how to create simple and elegant sentences, a good and solid plot. In other words, I was learning how to write. Without realizing it, I was hot on the trail of my own fate. Writing now absorbs me the way reading once did and happiness is their generous side effect.
1.Why did the author skip school on that day?
A.Because her parents left home early.
B.Because it was a cold winter morning.
C.Because she was fascinated by a novel.
D.Because she hated to take the biology exam.
2.What did the author think is the source of true joy?
A.Reading by the fire. B.Travelling in Spain.
C.Breaking the regulations. D.Being occupied by one’s passion.
3.Which can best replace the underlined phrase “braiding itself into” in the last paragraph?
A.Entering. B.Destroying.
C.Mending. D.Blocking.
4.What can we infer from the passage?
A.I was tired of my real-life roles.
B.I learnt how to write on the internet.
C.Hemingway’s style influenced me a lot.
D.Becoming a writer was my childhood dream.
Each year the Hay Festival attracts some of the world’s leading writers, artists and thinkers, to talk, share their thoughts and ideas and meet audiences. Ensuring guests are warmly received and well looked after during their stay has always been a top mission and one of the Festival’s key jobs.
All events management student volunteers need to be attentive and helpful. In return, they get the chance to meet some amazing, creative people, and experience the daily running of a fast-moving international festival, where time-keeping is important and, above all, performers and audience leave having had a thoroughly enjoyable, stimulating (启发性的) and thought-inspiring day.
We require volunteers in two areas:
Events Management
Events management student volunteers help out with a wide range of duties including meeting and greeting authors, assisting with book signings, accompanying artists to events, stage management assistance and manning reception desks.
Creative Workshops
Creative workshops student volunteers assist authors, illustrators and workshop leaders in the setting up and running of workshops. These roles may interest those who have a particular interest in visual arts and/or illustration.
Dates
The 2020 festival dates are Thursday 21 May–Sunday 31 May. Applicants will need to be available for the duration of the festival.
Who can apply?
We are looking for 24 young people between the ages of 18 and 25, who can demonstrate a passion for the arts and interest in events management.
Please send a CV and a short covering letter to ellen@hayfestival.com (for Events Management), or adrian@hayfestival.org (for Creative Workshops).
The closing date for both applications is 28 February 2020, and we will let applicants know whether they’ve been successful as early as possible in March 2020. Please indicate which role you are applying for or express a preference. If shortlisted (入围), you’ll need to be available for a short Skype interview.
1.What is the priority of the Hay Festival’s duty?
A.To meet creative people. B.To exchange ideas.
C.To receive more visitors. D.To serve guests well.
2.What must be mentioned in the application letter?
A.Available Time. B.The desired role.
C.A covering letter. D.Personal interests.
3.What is the deadline for the application?
A.20 March, 2020. B.21 May, 2020.
C.28 February,2020. D.31 May, 2020.
阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。续写的词数应为150左右。
It was an ordinary day for Shawn Turner and his kids as they were driving home along Military Trail on the morning of February 23. However, all this was about to change when his 9 -year -old son Timmy suddenly yelled from the backseat. He alerted him that there was a car floating in the canal they were passing by.
Shawn immediately pulled off onto the shoulder near the Boca Raton canal. The 33 - year-old dad rushed out of his vehicle and saw a woman behind the wheel in the sinking car. Knowing that there was no time to waste, Shawn quickly took off his sweatpants and jumped into the water.
He swam up to the window and confirmed that the woman, later identified as Molly Pedrone, was unconscious. She was still buckled (弯曲) in as her white Kia Soul filled with water. A woman also jumped in to assist with the rescue.
He shot his hand through the cracked window to roll it all the way down and launched his body halfway across the front seat. Shawn struggled to unbuckle Molly’s seatbelt. Just then, a man later identified as Adam Gunn dived into the water and quickly swam towards the driver’s side window.
By then, the car was close to being fully submerged. Shawn climbed inside to free Molly. Shawn lifted Molly out of her seat so that Adam could pull her through the driver’s side window. Because of his weight, the car started sinking faster. His 14-year-old son, who was filming the rescue, yelled in panic,“Dad, jump out! Get out! ”
Just as the car’s entire front was underwater, Shawn’s head emerged from the surface. He, the woman, and Adam carried Molly to the shore. As they were bringing her to the bank, Molly opened her eyes, looking confused.
“I told her to relax, that she was in an accident and that her car went into the water,”
Shawn said.
However, Molly had no recollection of the whole rescue, it was when she got in the hospital that she understood everything that had happened.
The attack rendered her unconscious, and that’s when her car came crashing into the canal.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Molly and Shawn met on Tuesday, and she says she couldn’t thank him enough and everyone involved in for what they did for her. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
6月6日是全国爱眼日。在爱眼日来临之际，你校英文报以“爱护眼睛”为主题开展征文活动，请根据以下提示写一篇短文投稿。要点提示：
1.用眼的不良习惯和问题；
2.保护眼睛的措施和建议。
注意:1.词数80左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
Wu Yu, a nurse in the 1.(three) medical team dispatched to Wuhan from Xiangya Hospital, Hunan, didn’t expect her wish would come true so soon.
On the eve of International Women’s Day, she made a special wish during 2. on - camera interview 3. Argentinian superstar footballer Lionel Messi could send her 8 - year-old son a jersey.
I believe a jersey from Messi would definitely encourage my boy 4. (become) a member of the national youth training team,” the mother said. That night, the official Weibo account of Argentina’s national football team 5. (respond): “Hello, nurse mother! After hearing your wish, we are going to send you a No. 10 Messi jersey. We hope your son can have a 6. (bright) future after wearing his idol’s shirt! ”
Coming out of the hospital after a night shift, Wu received the good news the next morning. “I didn’t 7. (real) expect this wish to come true because I just wanted to encourage my son,” she said. One of the 8. (reason) she had requested to join the fight against coronavirus in Wuhan is that she wanted to set a good example 9. son at the age of 8, 10. (tell) him that no difficulty can stop people from chasing their dreams.
I was 17 years old. Along with a dozen other boys I had made a long trip to Iowa in order to see a college that I was thinking of __________. While the trip had been _________ for the most part, now that I was there I was feeling depressed, alone, and isolated. I was missing my _____ and I was also missing the Appalachian mountains and the forests of my home. I loved _____ the leaves turned a thousand shades of green in the Spring and then _________ a sea of red, gold, and orange in the Fall.
Here in Iowa everything was __________. The grass looked burnt and brown. All that I could _____ was a mixture of corn, mud, and pigs. I walked outside the dormitory of the college and sat on an old stump. I closed my eyes and ________ being back home again. When I finally opened them, however, I saw something that touched my _________. It was a Prairie Sunset. It seemed to ________ the sky from horizon to horizon. Gold, red, purple and pink clouds all ______ together in a picture painted by Heaven’s own hand. It was so huge that it took my breath away. It made our mountain sunsets seem _________ by comparison. I realized that this place too had its own special beauty. This place too was a part of nature’s __________ .
Over the years to come I learned something else. Each of us has a special beauty ______ .
Each of us has our own ________ talents and abilities.
1.A.assisting B.attending C.visiting D.quitting
2.A.fun B.hard C.novel D.tiresome
3.A.chance B.school C.family D.goal
4.A.when B.how C.why D.whether
5.A.became B.flooded C.drew D.surrounded
6.A.easy B.beautiful C.flat D.rough
7.A.hear B.touch C.taste D.smell
8.A.cared about B.prepared for C.dreamed of D.thought over
9.A.body B.soul C.face D.pain
10.A.fill B.cover C.separate D.block
11.A.folded B.sank C.escaped D.flowed
12.A.tiny B.pale C.splendid D.weak
13.A.change B.punishment C.creation D.reflection
14.A.as well B.in addition C.for sure D.in between
15.A.extra B.unique C.possible D.reasonable
