—You seem to be fond of classical music.
—_______________. As a matter of fact, I like jazz music better.
A. I don’t agree B. Not really
C. I couldn’t agree more D. No doubt
假设你是新华中学的学生会主席。近来，随着网络的普及，学生的汉字书写能力降低。为了保护传统民族文化——汉字，校学生会提出倡议。请你根据以下内容提示，为学校《英语沙龙》的同学们写一封倡议书。
内容要点：
1.少上网，多读书、勤记笔记；
2.养成练书写和写日记的习惯；
3.自拟一项其他方面的倡议内容。
注意：短文字数不少于100词。
参考词汇: 汉字Chinese characters
My father was 44 and knew he wasn't going to make it to 45. He wrote me a letter and hoped that something in it would help me for the rest of my life.
Since the day I was 12 and first read his letter, some of his words have lived in my heart. One part always stands out. “Right now, you are pretending to be a time-killer. But I know that one day, you will do something great that will set you among the very best.”Knowing that my dad believed in me gave me permission to believe in myself. “You will do something great.” He didn’t know what that would be, and neither did I, but at times in my life when I’ve felt proud of myself, I remember his words and wish he were here so I could ask, “Is this what you were talking about, Dad? Should I keep going?”
A long way from 12 now, I realize he would have been proud when I made any progress.
Lately, though, I’ve come to believe he'd want me to move on to what come next: to be proud of and believe in, somebody else. It's time to start writing my own letters to my children. As mothers, our children look to us with the same unanswered question we had. Our kids don’t give up because they’re afraid to fail. They’re only afraid of failing us. They don’t worry about being disappointed. Their fear－as mine was until my father’s letter－is of being a disappointment.
Give your children permission to succeed. They’re waiting for you to believe in them. I always knew my parents loved me. But trust me: That belief will be more complete, that love will be more real, and their belief in themselves will be greater if you write the words on their hearts: “Don’t worry; you’ll do something great.” Not having that blessing from their parents may be the only thing holding them back.
1.Why did the father write a letter to the author? (No more than 20 words)
___________________________________________________________________________________________
2.What did the father mainly want the author to learn from his letter?
(No more than 15 words)
_________________________________________________________________________________________
3.According to the passage, what does the underlined word “failing” mean in English?
(No more than 2 words)
__________________________________________________________________________________________
4.According to the passage, how did the author overcome her fear?
(No more than 10 words)
___________________________________________________________________________________________
5.If your parents were to write you a letter, what would you expect to read? Give your reasons. (No more than 25 words)
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Ask most people anywhere in the world what they want out of life and the reply will probably be: “to be happy.” Ed Deiner, an American psychology professor, has spent his whole professional life studying what makes people happy, comparing levels of happiness between cultures and trying to find out exactly why we enjoy ourselves.
Many people would say that this question does not need an answer. But Professor Deiner has one anyway. “If you’re a cheerful, happy person, your marriage is more likely to last, and you’re more likely to make money and be successful at your job. On average, happy people have stronger immune systems, and there is some evidence that they live longer.”
So who are the world’s happiest people? It depends on how the word is defined. There is individual happiness, the sense of joy we get when we do something we like. But there is also the feeling of satisfaction we get when we know that others respect us and approve of how we behave. According to Professor Deiner, the Western world pursues individual happiness while Asia prefers mutual satisfaction.
“In the West, the individualistic culture means that your mood matters much more than it does in the East. People ask themselves if they are doing what is fun or interesting. They become unhappy when they can’t do any of these things. If you ask people from Japan or China if they are happy, they tend to look at what has gone wrong in their lives. If not much has gone wrong, then they are satisfied.”
People from Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries had the happiest culture, Professor Deiner found. “The biggest cultural difference is to do with pride and shame. Hispanic (西班牙语言的) cultures report much more pride and much less shame than others.”
Income also made a big difference to people’s happiness, but only at the lowest levels. Average income earners in the US were much happier than people in poverty. But millionaires were only a little bit happier than people on average incomes. It seems that money makes us happy when we have enough to feel secure.
1.According to the passage, happy people enjoy the following benefits EXCEPT ______.
A. a long marriage
B. better health
C. profession success
D. respect from others
2.In Professor Deiner’s opinion, ______.
A. Asians focus more on others’ respect and approval than westerners
B. Westerners care more about mutual satisfaction than Asians
C. Asians have a culture to enjoy individual happiness
D. Westerners value individual happiness as much as mutual satisfaction
3.What can be inferred from the fifth paragraph?
A. Hispanic cultures lay stress on pride and shame.
B. Spanish people take too much pride in themselves.
C. Attitude towards pride and shame results in Spanish happiness.
D. If you are from Spain, you are the happiest.
4.In the last paragraph, the author seems to tell us ______.
A. poor people enjoy the same happiness as millionaires.
B. the higher income one gets, the happier life he lives
C. enough money can make us feel safe and happy
D. average income earners live the happiest life
5.The passage mainly discusses______.
A. Hispanic cultures
B. reasons for happiness
C. the happiest culture
D. benefits of happiness
One windy spring day, I observed young people having fun using the wind to fly their kites. Multicolored creations of varying shapes and sizes filled the skies like beautiful birds dashing and dancing in the exciting atmosphere above the earth. As the strong winds gusted against the kites, a string kept them in check.
Instead of blowing away with the wind, they arose against it to achieve great heights. They shook and pulled, but the controlling string and the clumsy tail kept them in tow(牵引), facing upward and against the wind. As the kites struggled and trembled against the string, they seemed to say, “Let me go! Let me go! I want to be free!” They flew beautifully even as they fought the forced restriction of the string. Finally, one of the kites succeeded in breaking loose. “Free at last,” it seemed to say. “Free to fly with the wind.”
Yet freedom from control simply put it at the mercy of an unsympathetic gentle wind. It flew ungracefully to the ground and landed in a twisted mass of weeds and string against a dead bush. “Free at last”. Free to lie powerless in the dirt, to be blown helplessly along the ground, and to settle down lifeless against the first roadblock.
How much like kites we sometimes are. There always exist misfortunes and restrictions, rules to follow from which we can grow and gain strength. Prohibition is a necessary counterpart to the winds of opposition. Some of us pulled at the rules so hard that we never fly fast to reach the heights we might have obtained. If we keep all the commandment(戒律), we will never rise high enough to get our tails off the ground.
Let us each rise to the great heights, recognizing that some of the prohibitions are actually the steady force that helps us climb and achieve.
1.In the passage the writer watched _____.
A. many young people enjoying the sunny day
B. many birds dashing and dancing in the sky
C. many young people flying multicolored kites
D. the strong winds blowing against the sky
2.What enables a kite fly gracefully in the sky according to the story?
A. The kite itself and strange shapes.
B. A long string and blowing wind.
C. A windy spring day and blue sky.
D. The size of the kite and a long string.
3.What didn’t happen to the freed kite?
A. It kept flying freely in the air.
B. It lay powerless in the dirt.
C. It was trapped in a dead bush.
D. It was blown helplessly around.
4.What is the purpose of the author in writing this passage?
A. To give up tips on how to fly kites effectively.
B. To warn us that freedom is actually powerless.
C. To explain that restrictions are really unnecessary.
D. To teach us a lesson that rules are important in life.
5.Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
A. Fly with Restrictions
B. Where to Fly
C. Why to Fly Kites
D. Fly to Freedom
It’s a tradition that dates back to the 1930s’ and it’s designed to give all children in Finland, no matter what background they’re from, an equal start in life.
The maternity(母性) package — a gift from the government — is available to all expectant mothers. It contains bodysuits, a sleeping bag, outdoor gear, bathing products for the baby as well as nappies, bedding and a small mattress.
With the mattress at the bottom, the box becomes a baby’s first bed. Many children, from all social backgrounds, have their first naps within the safety of the box’s four cardboard walls.
The tradition dates back to 1938. At first, the scheme was only available to families on low incomes, but that changed in 1949. In the 1930s Finland was a poor country and the infant death rate was high — 65 out of 1,000 babies died. But the figure decreased rapidly in the decades that followed. Over 75 years, the box has been an established part of the Finnish rite(仪式) of a passage to motherhood, uniting generations of women.
Reija Klemetti, a 49-year-old woman from Helsinki, remembers going to the post office to receive a box for one of her children. “My partner Milla and I were living in London when we had our first child, Jasper, so we weren’t eligible (有资格) for a free box. But Milla’s parents didn’t want us to miss out, so they bought one and put it in the post office. We couldn’t wait to open the box. There were all the clothes I had expected, with the addition of a snowsuit for Finland's cold winter.”
“We now live in Helsinki and have just had our second child, Annika. She did get a free box, from the Finnish government. This felt to me like evidence that someone cared — someone wanted our baby to have a good start in life,” Reija Klemetti said.
1.In Finland the maternity package is probably seen as a symbol of_____.
A. wealth
B. equality
C. pride
D. fame
2.The fourth paragraph implies that_____.
A. the rich refused to use the boxes
B. there were not enough boxes at first
C. the boxes were given to poor families only
D. the boxes helped cut down the death rate of babies
3.Why couldn’t Reija Klemetti get a free box when her first child was born?
A. They were not citizens of Finland.
B. They lived outside Finland.
C. They didn't apply for the box.
D. They had got one from their neighbors.
4.How did Reija Klemetti feel when she received the box from the post office?
A. Worried. B. Disappointed.
C. Puzzled. D. Excited.
5.What did Reija Klemetti want to tell us in the last paragraph？
A. A free box came at last.
B. She was longing for a free box for her child.
C. She returned to Finland to get a free box.
D. The free box gave her a feeling of warmth.
