In modern society(社会) there is a great deal of argument about competition. Some value it highly, for they believe that it is helpful for social progress and richness. Others say that competition is bad, and that it sets one person against another and leads to unfriendliness between people. I have trained many children who held the belief(看法) that their self worth came from how well they performed at tennis and other skills. For them, playing well and winning are often life and death matters. Sadly, they forget to develop many other human qualities. However, while some seem to be lost in the strong wish to succeed, others think quite the opposite. In a culture which values only the winner and pays no attention to the ordinary(普通) players, they strongly blame competition, especially youngsters who have suffered under competitive pressures(压力) from their parents or society. Teaching these young people, I often find that they even choose to fail. They seem to choose failure by not trying to win or achieve success. By not trying, they always have an excuse, “I may have lost, but it doesn’t matter because I really didn’t try.” In fact, they are worried that if they had really tried and failed, the failure would mean that they were worth nothing. Clearly, this belief is the same as that of the true competitors who try to prove themselves. Both are based on the mistaken belief that one’s self worth comes from how well one performs in comparison(比较) with others. Both are afraid of not being valued. We can only discover a new meaning in competition as such worries and fear begin to disappear.
Title: Opinions about competition
Main argument Some believe that competition can push society 1., while others think competition 2.unfriendliness between people. Children’s performances Some children 3.care about performing well and winning.
Some children give up trying to prevent themselves from 4..Reason behind They think one can prove his self worth only by performing better than others in competition. Writer’s 5.to children Understand the new meaning of competition.
“The British government will offer ￡1,000,000 to anyone who can solve the world’s biggest problem—whatever it might be,” said Prime Minister(首相) David Cameron at a science conference. In an unusual competition, the Government will ask people to find out the greatest challenge(挑战) today, such as finding a replacement(替代) for oil, producing low cost food or curing AIDS/HIV. When the toughest problem has been decided, the Prime Minister will give away ￡1,000,000 to the person who successfully works out the answer. The competition follows the example of the Longitude Prize started by the government in 1714, which offered ￡20,000 (worth ￡6,000,000 today) to anyone who could discover how far east or west ships had sailed. Sailors could work out their location north and south, and were able to decide their local time from the sun. However, they needed to know the time at a reference(参照) point in order to find out how far they had travelled east or west. Many people thought the problem was impossible to solve, but the prize was finally won by John Harrison, an ordinary worker. He did this by designing a clock that kept accurate(准确的) time at sea and made it possible for sailors to work out their location. Almost exactly 300 years on, Mr Cameron will have a group of scientists collect suggestions and draw up a short list of problems facing the world. He will then start a race to solve the most difficult problem. A government officer said, “We want people to think big: what does the world need and how can we achieve that? We are looking for the next penicillin(青霉素), airplane or World Wide Web. Something that is going to really change what we do and how we live our lives—sending us ahead in the global race. ”According to Mr Cameron, it is important to “encourage new ideas” and “attract back the best and the brightest” to Britain.
1. The British government promises ￡1,000,000 to any person who .
A. can solve the biggest challenge facing the world
B. can find how the next penicillin works on illnesses
C. can think of the most difficult problem in the world
D. can help the Prime Minister run his government better
2. The Longitude Prize is mentioned mainly to .
A. explain why the government set up the prize in 1714
B. show John Harrison was a great success as an inventor
C. show that the government is very grateful to John Harrison
D. explain what gave Mr Cameron the idea of starting the competition
3. We can infer(推断) from Paragraphs 4 and 5 that .
A. ships no longer get lost at sea with Harrison’s invention
B. clocks on ships kept good time before Harrison’s invention
C. sailors found it hard to work out their location north and south
D. the sailing industry was very important in Britain around the 1700s
4. Which of the following is true according to the text?
A. John Harrison was sure that he would win the prize.
B. The million pound prize will go to a British scientist.
C. The British government pays special attention to the nation’s creativity.
D. A replacement for oil is considered as the toughest problem by the scientists.
Greek(希腊)Roman(罗马) Festival
Friday, April 28th
You can join one group. As a member of the group, you will take part in at least ONE of the following activities.
1Compete in an Olympic event. Remember there is only small space for each event, so don’t be late.
Hercules Throw. Throw a football through a hoop(圈) 20 feet away.
Three Headed Race Three people line up with touching legs tied. Then they run 100 metres in the playground.
Toga Barrow Race This is like a wheelbarrow race. (Runners take hold of partners feet while partners walk on hands.)
2Make Greek or Roman food. Mrs Jones has a list of recipes(菜谱) from ancient(古代的) Greece and Rome. You may make American food, but be sure to give it a special, mythological(神话的) name. For example, call your chocolate cake “Zeus’s Delight.” This is a great way to practice your skills in the kitchen.
3Create a work of art for the museum. Be sure your artwork shows ancient Greek or Roman culture. Artworks may include sculptures, paintings, mosaics, drawings or models. The museum is a great place to show off your artistic talent.
4Perform a new short performance, song or dance for the talent show. Rewrite your favorite Greek myth(神话) by using modern language, or change the words of a popular song to tell a Greek or Roman story. Send your creative ideas to your English teacher for agreement. You must first perform for a group of teachers. The teachers choose the BEST performance groups for the talent show, so be sure your group has prepared for it.
This timetable will help groups know when each event will take place and where to go.
Group Number1:00-1:251:30-1:552:00-2:252:30-3:30ⅠOlympics/
Playground Museum/Library Food Court/
Dining Hall ⅡFood Court/
Dining Hall Olympics/
Playground Museum/Library ⅢMuseum/Library Food Court/
Dining Hall Olympics/
Playground Talent Show/
School Theatre
1.Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. Each student is made to take part in at least one Olympic event.
B. Greek myths or the songs that will be performed are rewritten by the teachers.
C. Greek or Roman names must be used for American food the students may cook.
D. Artworks shown in the museum are collected or made by the students themselves.
2.What do Group Ⅲ do right after watching the artworks?
A. Watch the talent show.
B. Prepare for a performance.
C. Taste food that students make.
D. Compete in the Olympic events.
3. For what purpose is the festival most probably held?
A. To improve students artistic talent.
B. To make students more physically strong.
C. To make students more creative in making foods or performing.
D. To help students learn about ancient Greek and Roman cultures.
Once a traveller came into a village which was suffering from hunger. The villagers asked him to leave, for they feared he wanted them to give him food. They told him that there was no food. The traveller explained that he didn’t need any food and that, in fact, he was planning to make a soup to share with them instead. The villagers watched suspiciously as he built a fire and filled a pot with water With great ceremony(仪式), he pulled a stone from a bag, and dropped the stone into the pot of water. After a moment, he smelt the soup and shouted with excitement, “How delicious the soup is!” As the villagers began to show interest, he mentioned how good the soup would be with just a little cabbage in it. A villager brought out a cabbage to share. This episode(情节) repeated itself until the soup had cabbage, carrots, onions, and beets—indeed, a full pot of soup that could feed everyone in the village was ready. This story describes when there are not enough resources(资源), humans will store things. We do not want to share. The story of stone soup helps us realize that, in doing so, we often prevent ourselves and everyone else from having a feast(盛宴).The meaning of this story goes far beyond food. We keep to ourselves ideas, love, and energy, thinking we will be richer, but in fact we make the world, and ourselves, poorer. The traveller was able to see that the villagers were holding back, and he had the ability to inspire(激发) them to give. In this way, they created a large meal that none of them could have created alone. Are you like one of the villagers? If you come forward and share your gifts, you will inspire others to do the same. The reward is a feast that can feed many.
1. What does the underlined word “suspiciously” most probably mean?
A. doubtfully B. excitedly
C. curiously D. fearfully
2. The traveller put a stone into the pot in order to .
A. teach the villagers to cook a soup with stone
B. inspire the villagers to bring out their own food
C. prove to the villagers that he didn’t want their food
D. help villagers to survive by giving them some food
3.The writer mainly wants to tell us that .
A. storing things in hard times is human nature
B. a good leader is very necessary in hard times
C. skills are needed to inspire people to share with others
D. sharing is more important than keeping things to oneself
Harry is a boy with a learning disability. On his fourth birthday, he was given a pug called Millie. Two weeks after the dog’s arrival, he was happier and calmer and said his first words, “dog” and “mummy”. Just two months later, thieves stole the dog, and now the heartbroken little boy is back to where he started. He has refused to talk since losing his best friend. His mother was worried and gave him another dog, but he just “pushed it away”. Mrs Hainsworth, his mother, says, “My son is very sad. He’ll go over to her cage and just beat(敲打) on the bars. There is no word coming out, but you just know he’s screaming ‘Where is Millie’ inside. Millie was really his best friend. They would play together happily for hours. None of his toys has ever held his attention that long. Now he has just completely turned quiet again. ”Harry suffers from a condition which affects his ability to speak and move. But the dog’s being with him achieved more in days than months of speech therapy and physiotherapy had. Mrs Hainsworth says, “My son was so happy when he saw Millie. Being with Millie changed him, and within two weeks he had said his first words and was working on saying ‘dad’. Just last week, his teachers and I were saying how much Millie had helped him. And now this!” Mrs Hainsworth is considering buying another pug in the hope that her son will accept it. Maureen Hennis of the charity, Pets as Therapy, says she has seen many cases of dogs helping people with speech problems. “People may talk to a dog when they wouldn’t like to talk to another human,” she says. “A dog doesn’t care if words come out wrong.”
1. Before getting Millie, Harry .
A. had never seen a dog
B. had never said a word
C. had received little treatment
D. had never played with toys
2. With Millie gone, Harry .
A. is too sad to continue learning to talk
B. often quietly waits for her beside the cage
C. keeps asking his mother to get him another pug
D. does not want to play with other children any more
3. According to Maureen Hennis, Millie was able to help Harry because .
A. dogs are man’s best friends
B. dogs are very clever and helpful
C. children don’t have stress when talking to dogs
D. children would rather talk to dogs than to humans
My earliest memories of writing are only school homework, nothing of any creativity. All that one day, when Mrs Kumar asked us to write “An autobiography(自传) of a pencil”. For me, it was just another piece of homework, Mrs Kumar reacted(表现) very differently. Maybe she was just being , or maybe she really liked the work. Whatever her , she read it out to the class as an example of “fine writing”. A few years later, I went back to my old school. I was walking through the corridors(走廊) when I passed by Mrs Kumar, who was still teaching her class. She looked up as I passed and I , not wanting to disturb her. Seeing me, she went out and invited me into her class. “This girl is one of the best this school has seen,” she said. “She wrote a wonderful autobiography of a pencil. I hope some of you can learn to write like her. ”Even after all these years, I can still clearly remember that moment. My face shines with whenever I tell someone this experience. I am sure I was not the only student whose school homework Mrs Kumar . It is likely that she made an effort to make each one of us feel . However, I had never had anybody praise(表扬) my writing before that. It encouraged me to do better to prove to her that “Look! Your in me has worked. I am good, because you believe I am. ”Today, I am a successful writer. Thanks to Mrs Kumar, my are not only a tool(工具) to use. They are also a symbol of little beginnings and the power of a teacher’s encouragement.
1.A. started B. repeated C. changed D. appeared
2.A. and B. though C. so D. but
3.A. kind B. excited C. satisfied D. generous
4.A. reasons B. causes C. efforts D. wishes
5.A. strange B. endless C. crowded D. familiar
6.A. whispered B. clapped C. waved D. cheered
7.A. inventors B. writers C. winners D. visitors
8.A. courage B. honesty C. pride D. modesty
9.A. remembered B. checked C. included D. marked
10.A. protected B. special C. loved D. necessary
11.A. understanding B. confidence C. recommendation D. congratulation
12.A. visits B. writings C. memories D. pencils
