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 on weekdays, 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 skipped school when he was young.
D.Becoming a writer was my childhood dream.
THE SESSIONS
TRAVEL WRITING
Whether you're trying to impress an editor, get yourself noticed or start a career as a writer, our sessions will give you all the help and advice you need to make your words count.
We'll also be discussing the future of travel writing in this ever-changing digital world.
One-on-one sessions
Are you looking for tailored feedback on your work? If so, we have a limited number of one-on-one sessions with leading travel writers that will focus on your style, tone and narrative direction. Our partner, Olympus, will also be on hand to give you expert advice on getting the most use of their cameras. For more details on how to book, go online.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Don,t miss your chance to get tips straight from the top as our team of photographers and designers share their expertise. We'll cover everything from wildlife and landscapes to planning the perfect shoot and adapting to your environment when talking photos.
WHEN
6, October 10:00-18:00
WHERE
University of Westminster
Marylebone Road, London
NW15LS
TICKETS
£50 or two for £90
1.What should you do if you want to turn to Olympus for help?
A.Attend photography sessions. B.Book one-on-one service.
C.Land a job as a writer or an editor. D.Go to University of Westminster.
2.How much should you pay for two tickets?
A.£90. B.£110. C.£140. D.£180.
3.What's the purpose of the text?
A.To advertise a magazine. B.To provide part-time jobs.
C.To promote some classes. D.To exchange experience.
假设你是红星中学高三学生李华，你的英国朋友Jim在给你的邮件中提到他对中国历史很感兴趣，并请你介绍一位你喜欢的中国历史人物。请你给Jim回信，内容包括：
1．该人物是谁；
2．该人物的主要贡献；
3．该人物对你的影响。
注意：1 词数不少于 50；
2 开头已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Jim,
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
根据短文内容，从短文后所给A、B、C、D、E五个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
If you're in a bad mood, you may feel as if you'll never get out of it. Fortunately, your thoughts have a lot of control over your mood. In fact, they have so much power over your mood that they can even affect the way you physically feel.1.
Change what you're doing. If you're unhappy because you feel bored, try doing something different. 2.For instance, if you've been in back-to-back meetings throughout your day with no free time, treat yourself to a funny movie at the end of your day. Changing what you’re doing can work wonders on your mood.
3.If you think your unhappy mood is stress related, get outside to reduce stress and lift your mood. Try going for a walk in the park or visit a garden. Being outside can greatly improve your mood.
Exercise. Go for a workout, play one of your favorite sports or activities, or just be more active in your daily routine. Studies have shown that exercising improves mood by signaling your body to release “feel-good” chemicals into your brain.4.
Do something that makes you smile. Studies have shown that smiling can improve your mood even if you're in a bad mood to begin with. Even if you don't feel like smiling, just reminding yourself of the act of smiling can cheer you up.
5.Or you can talk with a friend who you know always makes you laugh or smile.
A.Go outside.
B.Sometimes, just getting out of your current activity can change your mood.
C.Use these tips to change your thoughts and cheer up.
D.Even just five minutes of exercise has been shown to reduce anxiety.
E.Find activities that will cause you to smile such as watching a funny shower movie.
The world's best largest bicycle park
Ector Hoogstad Architecten has completed a three-storey bicycle park to store 12,656 bikes below Utrecht Central Station in the Netherlands.
The project begins as part of a wider redevelopment of the area surrounding the city's railway station, and is designed to enable cyclists to ride from the street level to the bike store, from which they can quickly access the station. It is hoped that the project will encourage locals to commute (通勤) using bikes and public transport instead of cars and make Utrecht a more sustainable(可持续的) city.
''Our comfortable bicycle parking is the answer to a major problem in the inner cities worldwide：pollution,'' explained the Rotterdam architecture studio. ''We created such a park that favors cyclists and pedestrians and make scar useless attractive.''
Ector Hoogstad Architecten won a competition to design the bike park at Utrecht Central Station in 2011.The first phase was finished in August of 2017, opening with space for 6,000 bikes. Now completed, the bike park accommodates three levels of underground stores for 12,656 bicycles-overtaking the world's former largest bike parking lot in Tokyo that houses 9,000.
Besides the storage, the project has a repair service and a bicycle hire shop. It also relies on a digital system to guide cyclists to a parking spot that provides the quickest access to the platforms.
The three-storey bike parking sits directly below Utrecht Central Station, accessed by pink cycle lanes(车道) that continue down inside and wraparound the edges of the structure.
The bike lanes connect to the parking across three levels. They are also color-coded(用颜色区分的) to guide cyclists through the space and to their parking lot.
Each parking spot branches off from the cycle paths, designed to provide plenty of space for people to dismount from their bikes without getting in the way of other cyclists. The concept is about speed and safety.
''The building is more than just the basic service system,'' added Ector Hoogstad Architecten. ''It adds an exciting and surprising architectural aspect to the city. Cycling through the garage has become a unique experience-not just another part of everyday life in the city, but almost an attraction in its own right. ''
1.Why do the Netherlands build the bicycle park?
A.To cut down on car use.
B.To promote sales of bikes.
C.To create more public parks.
D.To provide unique public services.
2.What is special about the digital system?
A.It guides cyclists to a parking lot.
B.It offers easy access to bike repair service.
C.It enables people to hire a bicycle.
D.It provides plenty of space for car drivers.
3.What does the underlined phrase ''dismount from'' mean?
A.Get on. B.Get off.
C.Keep from. D.Remove from.
4.What do we know according to the article?
A.There are three large bike stores below the station.
B.Cyclists can park their bikes wherever they like.
C.Each parking spot forks off from the bike paths.
D.The bike park opened with space for 6,000 bikes in 2011.
Pre-school teacher Rosa Ramirez has a special way of asking her students to line up for playtime outside. “Pueden pararse si llevan puesto algo de color amarillo, como una abeja,” she tells them. In English, Ramirez would say, “You can stand up if you are wearing yellow—like a bee.” But this is the half of the school day in which she teaches completely in Spanish.
Students are not confused by her language choice. Most of the four-year-olds wearing yellow stand up as instructed. The pre-school bilingual program at Gates Street Early Education Center in Lincoln Heights is part of a growing number of bilingual education models in California and across the country. Many of them are designed to serve students from Spanish-speaking families, as well as students from other cultures, under growing evidence that learning two languages can help people from all backgrounds become stronger students.
About 3.8 million students in U.S. schools are native Spanish speakers who are not good at English. They make up a large part of about five million students nationwide identified as English language learners. English language learners are the fastest-growing population in schools and the lowest-performing, as judged by achievement tests and graduation rates. Sixty-seven percent of students with limited English skills graduated from high school after four years in 2016, compared with 84% of all students.
Language experts recommend how to improve the situation: more high-quality, long-term bilingual programs can close the achievement gap between English learners and native English Speakers after five to six years, according to research.
The programs can be hard to put into practice. Problems include a debate over the best way to teach English learners, shortages of bilingual teachers, and even the fact that bilingual programs often grow fastest in areas where upper-income parents ask for them. That’s good for children who participate, but it worries people who want to see language-minority students have equal access.
“If we can make children feel more ready and more accepted, then we’ve gone a long way to making them ready to learn, ” says Tara Fortune, an expert in children education.
1.How do the pre-school children react after hearing Rosa Ramirez's words?
A.They all stand up and try to catch bees.
B.Most children in yellow stand up as she asks.
C.They are all happy to wear new yellow clothes.
D.A large number of the children are confused.
2.What is the purpose of bilingual education models in America?
A.To help students from other cultures study.
B.To help students learn as many languages as they can.
C.To make English popular among students abroad.
D.To make students from other backgrounds physically stronger.
3.What is the situation of students who are native Spanish speakers, according to the passage?
A.They make up a small share of English language learners.
B.Sixteen percent of them fail to graduate every year on average.
C.They perform relatively poorly in studies.
D.84% of them can graduate with good scores.
4.What is the bilingual program like?
A.It is not accepted by rich families from other cultures.
B.It is not a good thing if it lasts for the whole life of students.
C.It is common in schools with students from different backgrounds.
D.It is hard to introduce especially with language-minority students.
