“What kind of stuff do you write?" one student asked on my first day at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. After a decade away from the classroom, I was back to ___________
“Creative non-fiction,n I said.
It was a _______ I couldn't remember when I’d last written a creative essay. It must have been before my volatile（喜怒无常的）mother fell ill, leaving me resigned to the idea that our story of family dysfunction would not end _______. It seemed that nothing I wrote could _________ that.
With too much time and lack of _________ , I accepted a position to teach creative non-fiction. Although I couldn't get myself to tell my own _______, I could require that my students tell theirs.
“You're going to be keeping a _______ in this class, ” I said. "And I want you to tell your stories like they _______."
"Why?” a boy named Michael asked. "I mean, who _________ about our stories?"
Looking out at the roomful of students, I realized I didn't have an __________.
No one said a word. I ________ that most didn't know their stories were stories一as beautiful and hard——as their own lives.
Finally , I said, “ Because it's what you have. Stories allow us to make meaning of what we've been through. When you shape your ________ into a story, it becomes yours and not just something that ________to you."
Michael didn't look ________, but he didn't challenge me either.
In his first essay, Michael wrote about how he grew up in one of the ________ neighborhoods in Boston. He wrote about the night he was out with two friends. The feeling of numbness(麻木)shot through my body as a car came zooming towards us. At that moment everything went blank. Both of my two mates were hit down, drenched in blood. Minutes after I witnessed that, I decided I was leading the dangerous neighborhood and going to college.
He went on to write about how his high school teachers, who saw his ________, helped him get into this school.
I had Michael __________ his essay out. After he finished, the class went so ________that we could hear the sound of each other's breath. After a moment, I said, “ That's why you tell your stories. ”
I went home that night and picked up my journal, ________and untouched. I found a pen and for the first time in months, I had to ________ .
1.A.studying B.teaching C.visiting D.consulting
2.A.lie B.fact C.task D.dream
3.A.slowly B.naturally C.happily D.violently
4.A.prove B.explain C.destroy D.change
5.A.control B.support C.inspiration D.security
6.A.jokes B.stories C.thoughts D.faults
7.A.list B.note C.record D.journal
8.A.exist B.succeed C.matter D.spread
9.A.cares B.worries C.debates D.inquires
10.A.argument B.opportunity C.influence D.answer
11.A.assumed B.predicted C.ignored D.checked
12.A.choice B.performance C.progress D.experience
13.A.applied B.happened C.belonged D.appealed
14.A.interested B.astonished C.convinced D.concerned
15.A.biggest B.quietest C.safest D.worst
16.A.potential B.creativity C.anxiety D.confusion
17.A.read B.bring C.figure D.point
18.A.relaxed B.still C.nervous D.friendly
19.A.clean B.special C.dusty D.marked
20.A.wonder B.write C.compete D.practise
阅读下列短文，根据短文内容填空。在未给提示词的空白处仅填写1个适当的单词， 在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。
The European Parliament(议会)voted for 1.( cancel) the summer time by 2021. The next step is to discuss the issue with EU countries.
The current law 2.( make) EU countries move their clocks forwards on the last Sunday in March and move them backwards on the last Sunday in October.
Some people say that the summer time saves energy, 3. the European commission (委员会) says that the 4. (save) are small. Also, most people in the EU want to cancel the summer time.
阅读下列短文，根据短文内容填空。在未给提示词的空白处仅填写1个适当的单词， 在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。
A US astronaut, Christina Koch, spent 328 days in space, which is a record for a female astronaut. She completed her mission, landing in a remote area of Kazakhstan.
Koch concluded six space walks and she did some experiments that studied 1. people are able to live outside Earth. Her time in space allows researchers 2.( study) the effects of a long-term spaceflight on the female body. NASA says the findings 3.( help) the agency during its future missions to the moon and Mars.
阅读下列短文，根据短文内容填空。在未给提示词的空白处仅填写1个适当的单词， 在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。
A man called Andy set out for the Pacific Crest Trail, 1.stretches from the borders of Mexico to Canada. He decided to take a selfie(自拍)every single mile along the 4,286-kilometre journey.
Andy created a time-lapse (延时的)video from his five-month hike and he was almost unrecognisable towards the end of the video一he had lost 23 kilograms.
2. (sad) , he never finished the journey, as he 3. (trap) by a snowstorm about 418 kilometres from the end.
假设你是李津，从互联网上看到一个国际中学生家教组织将面向中国招聘兼职中文家教 (tutor) 的广告，欢迎中国学生参加。请你写一封电子邮件申请参加。
内容主要包括：
1.自我介绍；
2.参加意图；
3.希望获准。
注意：
1.词数不少于100字；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3.邮件开头和结尾已为你写好，不计入总词数。
Dear Sir or Madam,
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours sincerely,
Li Jin
When I was in school, the class I dreaded most was my eighth grade art class. The teacher put down my every attempt at completing an assignment. I simply couldn’t produce art the way she wanted it. Luckily, I’d already proven myself in other creative areas. Yet, that art teacher was successful in convincing me that I had no talent for painting, drawing, or anything related to them. Imagine my surprise when I published my nature photography and became a volunteer art teacher!
Unfortunately, my story is all too familiar to many people who come through my workshops and practice. Even more unfortunately, the vast majority of people were so discouraged in childhood that they cut off the creative impulse (冲动) in most areas of their lives. Their teachers, parents, or classmates convinced them they had no talent, so they gave up. The pain of failure was simply too great.
Why have we forgotten creativity is an experience, not a result? Let’s consider why we express creativity in first place. To be creative is to be human. Everything we’ve at our disposal (处理) is the result of someone’s creative expression and willingness to take a risk. Even so, for creativity to flower and feel free of encumbrance (累赘), it needs to be about the joyful moments spent creating, not just about what we’ve to show for those moments. Whatever pattern you need to break, try to make it about the pleasure and not about the outcome.
Therefore, I’d urge you to curb your perfectionism not enthusiasm! Perfectionism is the leading killer of artistic expression. Relax a little and bring back your childlike nature when you create. Children instinctively (本能地) know how to give over to the joy --- until someone teaches them otherwise! Let your creation be whatever it wants to be. See if it can lead you rather than the other way around. Let your unconsciousness come through, and let the expression of yourself be beautiful regardless of how it compares to anything else. After all, it’s yours, and no one but you could create it!
1.What made the author give up his dream of art? (no more than 15 words)
2.What does the third paragraph mainly tell us? (no more than 10 words)
3.Please explain the underlined word “curb” in English. (no more than 5 words)
4.According to the passage, what is necessary for a creative person? (no more than 10 words)
5.Do you think you are more creative as a student? Please give an example. (no more than 25 words)
