Here are some tips from experts for writing that all-important application essay, which can often mean the difference between getting accepted — or rejected — by the school of your choice.
The essay is your loudspeaker — your view of the world and your ambitions. It’s not just a resume or a regurgitation of everything you’ve done. It needs to tell a story with passion, using personal, entertaining anecdotes that showcase your character, your interests, your values, your life experiences, your views of the world, your ambitions and even your sense of humor.
Emphasize volunteer work or other ways you’ve helped people or made your community a better place. It helps if the activity is related to the subject you want to study. For example, Christopher Rim of Command Education Group, which coaches students, remembers that one student who wanted to become a dentist, set up a nonprofit and held fund-raisers to distribute toothbrushes, toothpaste and other dental products to homeless shelters. Admissions staff members want to know how your presence will make the college a better place.
Mention internships, summer courses, extracurricular activities or lab work that show steps you’ve taken to learn and understand your field of interest. That will help show you know the field you’ve chosen to study and are passionate about it.
Explain with knowledge and passion why you want to study at this particular college rather than at others. Tell why the school’s size, curriculum, social atmosphere, location, professors or history influenced your choice.
Correct spelling, grammar and punctuation are critical. Use grammar, syntax and writing with a level of sophistication that shows you’re ready for college. Never use text-style abbreviations or rude or profane language. After the essay is submitted, check your email and voice mail daily to make sure you see and respond promptly to messages from admissions staff members. Many students check only texts and sometimes miss emails asking follow-up questions or requesting an interview.
Hafeez Lakhani of Lakhani Coaching summed up the essay this way: “Every college is like a dinner table. What will make you the most interesting contributor to that dinner table conversation? What will make you help everyone else have a more interesting experience?” A good essay, rich with anecdotes and personality, will answer those questions and stand out from the pile.
1.What should be covered in an application essay?
A.Your community, summer courses, and extracurricular activities.
B.Your passion, sense of humor and your resume.
C.Your college, views of the world, and interest.
D.Your volunteer work, internships, and lab work.
2.What does the underlined word “anecdotes” mean?
A.documents B.stories
C.descriptions D.jokes
3.How to persuade the admissions staff members to accept you?
A.Your life experiences are rich enough to learn the courses well.
B.You are kind to the homeless and eager to donate daily necessities
C.Your being present at the college will make it a better one.
D.You want to study at the school due to its popularity.
4.Which of the following is appropriate according to the author?
A.Apply grammar and sentences which is not that simple.
B.Write the application in a style of text abbreviation.
C.Use vulgar language to show you really care.
D.Employ correct spelling and pronunciation.
Do you know the toys below? They were once among the most popular toys.
1960 – Etch A Sketch
French electrician Andre Cassagnes had the idea of a drawing toy with a joy stick, glass screen, and aluminum (铝) powder. Using that idea, the Ohio Art Co. launched (推出) the Magic Screen in1960, and you could erase the picture with a shake of your hands. You can still find the toy today.
1964 – SuperBall
What happens when you accidentally create a plastic ball that jumps? The toy company, Wham-O Inc., buys your idea and it ends up selling millions. That’s exactly what happened to Norman Stingley, a chemical engineer who came upon SuperBall. At one time, Wham-O had to produce over 170,000 balls a day to keep up with the demand. Unbelievably, the National Football Game named the Super Bowl game (an well-known American football game) after this jumping ball.
1964 – G.I. Joe
In 1964, Hasbro toy company created G.I. Joe, a line of action figures designed to represent the 4 branches of the US Armed Forces – Action Soldier (Army), Action Sailor (Navy), Action Pilot (Air Force), and the Action Marine (Marine Corps). G.I. Joe was imagined as an excellent military unit devoted to defending citizens’ freedom against the evil persons. It has attracted the imagination of boys around the world.
1965 – Operation
An unsteady hand is your downfall (败落的原因) in the game of Operation, which was invented by John Spinello, a student at the University of Illinois. Later, Spinello sold his right to the toy to a well-known toy designer Marvin Glass for a sum of $500. Operation is currently made by Hasbro, with estimated sales of $40 million.
1.Which toy has a relationship with the sports event?
A.Etch A Sketch. B.SuperBall .
C.G.I. Joe. D.Operation.
2.Who probably are most interested in G.I. Joe?
A.Those fond of arts. B.Those fond of construction.
C.Those fond of brave soldiers. D.Those fond of kind doctors.
3.If you want to play with Operation successfully, you should ________.
A.keep your hand stable B.have better teamwork
C.get Norman Stingley’s guidance D.have a joy stick and a glass screen
假设你是高三学生李津，毕业后想去香港大学。请你给该校领导写一封电子邮件， 询问一些相关事宜。
1.对该校的法学院感兴趣，如何才能被相关专业录取；
2.是否需要参加英语考试；
3.该校的奖学金、学费、食宿安排和生活费用等情况。
注意：
1.邮件须包含以上所有内容，可适当增加细节；
2.开头已给出，不计入总词数，不少于100词。
参考词汇：香港大学 University of Hong Kong 法学院 Faculty of Law
Dear Sir/Madam,
My name is Li Hua,_____________________________________________________________________
阅读短文，并按题目要求用英语回答问题。
I received a private message on Facebook。 It began harmlessly enough: "Hey, girl. Wanted to invite you to join my next challenge group ——we'll be focusing on fitting in 30 minutes of exercise and balanced nutrition.”
It was all becoming too much. Facebook was running my life, not me.
But what killed Facebook for me was when I posted a photo, and five minutes later my son asked me how many "likes" it had got. His question was a wake-up call.
"Likes" arc signs of acceptance and approval. I had forgotten that acceptance and approval need to come from within and had unknowingly set him a bad example.
Before Facebook, surfing the internet was an occasional distraction and I spent a lot more time reading books and magazines. I checked in with friends through texts, emails and phone calls.
To recreate the simplicity of those days and set a healthier example for my son, I deactivated my Facebook account.
I'd been in the habit of checking Facebook many times a day, so I had to come up with some new habits. I carried a novel and a crossword puzzle book around with me. I rediscovered knitting（针织）. I started taking yoga classes.
I started to remember a few things. My body is fine just the way it is. I have friends who will help me out when I'm in trouble, and I will help them out. I do my best to be a good mother, and our son is happy and healthy. We are very lucky to be able to afford two vacations a year.
I stopped looking at the world through my cellphone. I felt pleasant at the moment.
The break left me feeling better about myself, my family, my home and my life.
After a few weeks, I returned to Facebook. Now I look at the photos of my friends, kids growing up and treasure how social media allows me to keep in touch with family for and wide. I look in on a daily basis, but no longer with the desire constantly to post updates.
It is not an addiction any more.
1.When the author's son asked her how many “likes" it had got, what's the author's reaction to the question? （no more than 10 words）
2.The underlined word “deactivate" in Paragraph 6 mean in English? (I word)
3.What did the author do to change her life?（no more than 5 words）
4.What did the author think of the break from Facebook? (no more than 15 words)
5.What do you think is the best way to use social media? Please explain.(no more than 25 words)
The US Postal Service(USPS) is losing billions of dollars a year. The government company that delivers "small mail" is losing out to email and other types of electronic communication. First-class mail amount fell from a high point of 104 million pieces in 2000 to just 64 million pieces by 2014.
Congress permits the 600,000-employee USPS to hold a monopoly over first-class and standard mail. The company pays no federal, state or local taxes；pays no vehicle fees； and is free from many regulations on other businesses. Despite these advantages, the USPS has lost 52 billion since 2007, and will continue losing money without major reforms.
The problem is that Congress is preventing the USPS from reducing costs as its sales decline, and is blocking efforts to end Saturday service and close unneeded post office locations. USPS also has a costly union-dominated workforce that slows the introduction of new ideas or methods down. USPS workers earn significantly higher payment than comparable private-sector workers. The answer is to privatize the USPS and open postal markets to competition. With the rise of the Internet, the argument that mail is a natural monopoly that needs government protection is weaker than ever.
Other countries facing declining letter amounts have made reforms. Germany and the Netherlands privatized their national postal companies over a decade ago, and other European countries have followed suit. Britain floated shares of the Royal Mail on its stock exchange in 2013. Some countries, such as Sweden and New Zealand, have not privatized their national postal companies, but they have opened them up to competition.
These reforms have driven efficiency improvements in all of these countries. Additional number of workers have been reduced, productivity has risen and consumers have benefited. Also, note that cost-cutting measures — such as closing some post offices — are good for both the economy and the environment.
Privatization and competition also encourage new changes. When the USPS monopoly over "extremely urgent" mail was stopped in 1979, we saw an explosion in efficient overnight private delivery by firms such as FedEx.
The government needs to wake up to changing technology, study postal reforms abroad and let businessmen reinvent（彻底改造）our out-of-date postal system.
1.What does the underlined word "monopoly" in Paragraph 2 mean?
A.The act of solving a problem.
B.A duty to deal with something.
C.Complete control of a public service/goods.
D.The plan of investing money in something.
2.What do we know about the USPS?
A.Its great competitor is the delivery firm FedEx.
B.It is an old public service open to competitions.
C.Its employees don't pay federal, state or local taxes.
D.It has complete control of first-class and standard mail.
3.The author mentions some other countries in Paragraph 4 to_______ .
A.explain the procedures of reform to the USPS
B.show the advantages of private postal services
C.set some examples for the government to learn from
D.prove the situation is very common around the world
4.The author probably agrees that the USPS_______ .
A.needs government's protection as ever
B.can work together with other businesses
C.must be replaced by international companies
D.should be sold out and become a private service
5.Which of the following shows the development of ideas in this passage?
I： Introduction CP： Central point P： Point Sp： Sub-point C： Conclusion
A.
B.
C.
D.
From talking robots and video phones to rovers （探测器）on Mars, technology has become so advanced that the previously impossible seems to occur on a daily basis. And yet—we still have no cure for the common cold.
Why can't we stop the common cold? According to Peter Barlow, a scientist at Edinburgh Napier University in the UK, the main challenge lies in the many different types of cold viruses that are produced by the rhinoviruses （鼻病毒），Scientific American reported. There are at least 160 types. They mutate so easily that they quickly become resistant to drugs, or learn to hide from our immune systems. In other words, a single cure isn't likely to work on every type of cold.
However, researchers from Stanford University and the University of California, San Francisco, have found a possible answer. They discovered a protein that the viruses need. Without it, they can't spread inside your body.
To identify the gene which produces the specific protein needed by the viruses, researchers used a gene-editing technique to test all genes in the human genome（基因组）one by one for thousands of cell.
These modified （改变的）cells were then exposed to a range of enteroviruses （肠道病毒）， including the rhinoviruses which cause the common cold.
All the viruses were unable to replicate（复制）inside cells without a gene that produces a specific protein, called methyltransferase（甲基转移酶）SETD3.
Then, they tested genetically（从基因方面）modified mice, which were completely unable to produce the protein. The mice were able to live healthy, normal lives without the protein.
"Lacking that gene protected the mice completely from viral （病毒的）infection,” associate professor Jan Carette, from Stanford, told the BBC.
"These mice would always die, but they survived and we saw a very strong reduction in viral replication and very strong protection."
Carette said the plan is to find a drug which can temporarily suppress（抑制） the protein, instead of producing genetically modified humans.
“We have identified a fantastic target that all enteroviruses and rhinoviruses require and depend on. Take that away and the virus really has no chance," said Carette.
"This is a really good first step—the second step is to have a chemical that mimics（模拟） this genetic deletion,” he added.
1.What does the underlined word "mutate” mean in English?
A.To change a new form.
B.To identify a new gene.
C.To check a modified cell.
D.To cure a viral infection.
2.What is the article mainly about?
A.Why it is so hard to cure the common cold.
B.The possible link between rhinoviruses and the common cold.
C.A possible way to stop viral infections that cause the common cold.
D.The functions of a protein needed by viruses.
3.What does Peter Barlow think is the main problem for prevention of the common cold?
A.The slow mutation of some genes.
B.The fast speed at which rhinoviruses spread.
C.The harm rhinoviruses do to the immune system.
D.The wide variety of cold viruses created by rhinoviruses.
4.What can we learn about the protein needed by the viruses?
A.It helps the viruses replicate inside our bodies.
B.It allows the viruses to change easily.
C.It helps the viruses become resistant to drugs.
D.It increases the spread of the viruses.
5.What did the researchers discover in their gene-editing study?
A.Genetically modified mice died because they lacked the protein.
B.The modified cells seemed to protect the mice against viral infections.
C.More methyltransferase SETD3 was produced after the cells were modified.
D.The gene-editing technique was more effective against enteroviruses than rhinoviruses.
6.What do the researchers plan to do next, according to Carette?
A.Conduct experiments on genetically modified humans.
B.Identify a drug that can help reduce the protein.
C.Apply this gene-editing technique to control other viruses.
D.Find a chemical that can cure all enteroviruses and rhinoviruses.
