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.
USA TODAY 10Best's Readers Choice Awards are currently on hold.We asked our readers to vote for the top events across six categories:music,general food,specialty food,film,cultural and emerging industries(founded in the past five years).These are some of the winners:
Kutztown Folk Festival
The nine-day Kutztown Folk Festival is the nation's oldest continuously operated folk life festival,drawing visitors from around the globe.A celebration of Pennsylvania Dutch culture and heritage,the event includes America's largest quilt sale,200 craftsmen and folk artists,local food and family friendly entertainment.
Water Lantern Festival
The Water Lantern Festival is all about connections.Magical nights in cities across the US include food,live music and the beauty of thousands of lanterns decorated with letters of love, hope and dreams floating on the water.
Carnaval of Quebec
The Quebec Carnaval is a 10-day festival of winter,the world's largest,complete with nighl parades(庆祝游行），ice skating,snow sculptures and a towering ice palace.Other highlighls include ice canoe racing,a sugar shack and iconic Caribou drinks.
San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade
San Francisco has celebrated its Chinese heritage during its annual Chinese New Year Festival&Parade since just after the Gold Rush.The parade ranks among the best in the world, with 100 units,fancy costumes,fireworks and a 268-foot Golden Dragon,which takes a team of 100 men and women to march through the streets.It has become one of the largest events of its kind in the world,drawing some three million spectators and television viewers.
1.What can you see during Kutztown Folk Festival?
A.Modern arts.
B.Quilts for sale.
C.Traditional weddings.
D.Shows on stage.
2.Which festival is meant to promote interpersonal relationships?
A.Kutztown Folk Festival.
B.Carnaval of Quebec.
C.Water Lantern Festival.
D.San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade.
3.Carnaval of Quebec and San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade both...
A.include special food
B.relate to parades
C.take place only at nights
D.have sculpture exhibitions
阅读下面短文，根据所给情节进行续写，便之构成一个完整的故事。
One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class walking home from school. His name was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all of his books. I thought to myself: “Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd (书呆子).”
As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt. His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him. He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes. So, I jogged over to him and as he crawled around looking for his glasses, I saw a tear in his eye. As I handed him his glasses, he said, “thanks!” There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude. We talked all the way home, and I carried his books. He turned out to be a pretty cool kid. The more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him.
Over next four years, Kyle and I became the best friends. When we were seniors, he had the highest marks in the class and was chosen to give a speech at the graduation ceremony. I teased him all the time about being a nerd. He had to prepare a lot, and I was so glad it wasn’t me having to get up there and speak.
Graduation day, I saw Kyle. I said, “Hey, big guy, you’ll be great!” He looked at me with one of those looks, the really grateful one, and said “Thanks,” smiling.
As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began. “Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends. I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give him or her. I am going to tell you a story.”
注意：
1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 至少使用5个短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4. 续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1:
I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:
I smiled back in tears.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
假定你是李华，注意到你校学生很少进行英语文学阅读。请给全校同学用英语写一封倡议书，倡导大家多阅读英语文学作品。内容包括：
1、介绍现状；
2、你对英语文学阅读的看法；
3、发出倡议。
注意:
1、词数80左右；
2、可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
My fellow students,
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Li Hua
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。
“The coronavirus may never go away”, 1. World Health Organization (WHO) has warned. 2. (speak) at a briefing on Wednesday, WHO emergencies director Dr Mike Ryan warned against trying to predict when the virus would disappear. He added, “controlling the virus is hard, 3.will require a massive effort”. Almost 300,000 people worldwide are reported4. (die) of coronavirus, and more than 4.3 million cases recorded. “It is important to put this on the table: this virus may never go away,” Dr Ryan told the virtual press conference. “HIV has not gone away--5.we have come to terms with the virus.” Dr Ryan then said he doesn't believe “anyone can predict when this disease will disappear”.
There are6.(current) more than 100 potential vaccines in development, but Dr Ryan noted there are other illnesses, such as measles (麻疹), that still 7.(eliminate) so far despite there being vaccines for them. WHO Director-General stressed8. was still possible to control the virus, with effort. We need to get into the mindset that it is going to take some time9.(come) out of this pandemic(大流行病). “Many countries would like to get out of the different measures,” the WHO boss said. “But our recommendation is still the alert at any country should be10.the highest level possible.”
I have been through the _______ of poverty and sickness. When people ask me what has kept me going through the troubles that come to all of us, I _______ reply: “I stood yesterday. I can stand today. And I will not permit myself to think about what might happen tomorrow.”
I have known want and struggle and anxiety and despair. I have always had to work beyond the _______ of my strength. As I look back upon my life, I see it as a battlefield strewn with the wrecks of _______ dreams and broken hopes and shattered illusions.
Yet I have no pity for myself; no tears to shed over the past and gone sorrows; no envy for the women who have been _______ all I have gone through. For I have lived. They only _______.
I have drunk the cup of life down to its very dregs(残渣). They have only sipped the bubbles on top of it. I know things they will never know. I see things _______ they are blind.
It is only the women whose eyes have been _______ clear with tears who get the broad vision _______ makes them little sisters to all the world.
I have learned in the great University of Hard Knocks a(an) ________ that no woman who has had an easy life ever acquires. I have learned to live each day ________ it comes and not to borrow trouble by dreading the morrow. It is the ________ menace(威胁)of the future that makes cowards of us. I put that ________ from me because experience has taught me that when the time comes that I so fear, the strength and wisdom to meet it will be given me.
I have learned not to ________ too much of people, and so I can still get happiness out of the friend who isn’t quite true to me or the acquaintance who ________. ________, I have acquired a sense of humour, because there were so many things over which I had either to cry or laugh. And when a woman can joke ________ her troubles instead of having hysterics(歇斯底里), nothing can ever hurt her much again.
I do not ________ the hardships I have known, because through them I have touched life ________ I have lived. And it was worth the ________ I had to pay.
1.A.widths B.depths C.lengths D.dimensions
2.A.sometimes B.nearly C.always D.punctually
3.A.limit B.limitation C.boundary D.power
4.A.injured B.slipped C.living D.dead
5.A.spread B.freed C.spared D.avoided
6.A.breathed B.stood C.existed D.appeared
7.A.to which B.at which C.for which D.in which
8.A.rushed B.washed C.brushed D.cleaned
9.A.what B.who C.which D.that
10.A.idea B.system C.competence D.philosophy
11.A.as B.when C.how D.why
12.A.sharp B.dark C.good D.plain
13.A.hatred B.threat C.dread D.competence
14.A.expect B.remind C.anticipate D.require
15.A.favors B.gossips C.sacrifices D.boasts
16.A.After all B.Besides C.Therefore D.Above all
17.A.beyond B.for C.on D.over
18.A.forget B.reserve C.regret D.addict
19.A.up to date B.at every point C.in every place D.all the round
20.A.price B.value C.bill D.hardships
