Every year in America, high-school students who want to go to college take a national examination called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, or SAT in a shortened way. Their score is an important factor in determining which colleges will admit them. The Scholastic Aptitude Test measures one’s mathematical ability and use of the English language. Traditionally, the English part involved grammatical questions and paragraphs that test reading comprehension.
But the SAT folks have added a single question, to be answered in an essay, handwritten on the spot. That’s an interesting way to test writing ability, but content aside, have you ever seen young people’s handwriting lately? Or anyone’s for that matter, in this age of computer keyboards? Students write numbers and sign their names on bank checks. They scribble class notes in what can generously be described as the written word.
Yet today’s kids are asked to write, thoughtfully and clearly, for several minutes on this SAT Test. Good luck to the text scorers who must work out difficultly the scrawl (潦草的笔迹)of young people who’ve been typing on computers since the age of three! Teachers insist that good handwriting can not only help one’s score on the SAT, but also, later on in life, impress potential employers. And don’t forget, we all have to turn to handwriting from time to time, as computers go down when power goes out.
Then how to improve the handwriting? Well, with a few simple steps you can improve your handwriting.
Position the pen. You should hold the pen between the forefinger and the thumb. You should then rest it near the first knuckle（指节）of the middle finger. The rest of your fingers should be curled （卷曲) under your hand and your hand should remain relaxed.
Evaluate your handwriting. What do you like and what you don’t like about the way you write? Make changes to your letters till you like how they look.
Take your time. Make sure that, while you are writing, you take your time. Speed is bound to make your writing messy- looking. If it is worth writing well, then take your time.
Practice. Practice it a lot; it’s not enough to do it once and hope for the best. It has to be something you work at to make great improvements.
1.The SAT tests students on __________.
A. math, English, reading and handwriting
B. math, grammar, reading and handwriting
C. math, foreign language and writing
D. math, foreign language and handwriting
2.Which of the following should you avoid when improving your handwriting?
A. Practice writing a lot.
B. Writing as fast as you can.
C. Relaxing your hand when holding the pen.
D. Changing your letters till you like how they look.
3.The text is to present the fact that __________.
A. writing seems to be very important in the SAT
B. those who will go to college have to take the SAT
C. students should practice handwriting more often
D. kids don’t know how to write in the computer age
The largest land animal remaining on the earth, the African elephant is of much importance to African ecosystem. Unlike other animals, the African elephant is to a great extent the builder of its environment. As a giant plant-eater, it significantly shapes the forest-and-savanna (大草原) surroundings in which it lives, therefore deciding the conditions of existence for millions of other animals that live in its habitat.
It is the elephant’s great desire for food that makes it both a disturber of the environment and an important builder of its habitat. In its continuous search for the 300 pounds of plants it must have every day, it kills small trees and underbushes, as well as pulls branches off big trees. This results in numerous open spaces in not only deep tropical forests but also the woodlands that cover part of the African savannas. In these open spaces are numerous plants in various stages of growth, which attract a variety of other plant-eaters.
Take the rain forests for example. In their natural state, the spreading branches overhead shut out sunlight and prevent the growth of plants on the forest floor. By pulling down trees and eating plants, elephants create open spaces, allowing new plants to grow on the forest floor. In such situations, the forests become suitable for large-hoofed plant-eaters to move around and for small-sized plant-eaters to obtain their food as well.
Scientists are worried now that the African elephant has become an endangered species. If the elephant dies out, scientists say, many other animals will also disappear from vast areas of forest and savanna, greatly changing and worsening the whole ecosystem.
1.What is the passage mainly about?
A. Disappearance of African elephants.
B. Forests and savannas as habitats for African elephants.
C. The effect of African elephants' search for food.
D. The eating habit of African elephants.
2.The African elephant influences the ecosystem in the following ways except that .
A. it creates open areas in deep tropical forests as well as woodlands
B. it pulls off the branches and leaves, shutting out the sunshine
C. its eating habit can be made use of by large-hoofed and small-sized animals
D. it encourages some kinds of plants growing in an indirect way
3.According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?
A. Numerous grown plants are the favorites of plant-eaters.
B. The extinction of the African elephant has nothing to do with the ecosystem.
C. Quantities of plants are consumed by African elephants, including branches and underbushes.
D. The forest floor in rain forests is scarcely dotted with new shoots.
4.The passage is developed mainly by .
A. presenting the changes in time order
B. making comparisons and giving examples
C. classifying similarities and differences
D. showing the effect and then explaining the reasons
Windows 8, apart from Windows 95, is the biggest surprise and the only version of Microsoft’ s operating system that has been changed from the core（核心）when compared to its former one. However, a recent study has shown that under 20% of business owners would be willing to upgrade to the new version of Windows. The reason for this remains to be discussed and debated, and we will try to throw light on this research by providing you with some of the most common advantages and disadvantages of Windows 8.
Generally speaking, there are a great number of plus sides related to upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 8.
Speed — This is the biggest advantage to mention. Boot time has been reported to be up to nine times shorter than that with Windows 7.
New passwords — Instead of typing your passwords, Windows 8 will let you use gestures on your favorite photos to enter your password. This is not only practical but also extremely cool!
Windows 8 experience — Apart from computers, Windows 8 will be used on all devices, including smart phones, tablet PC’s and so on. Also, owing to the fact that it has been specifically designed with touch screen users in mind, Windows 8, besides using keyboard and mouse, will offer a whole new user experience.
However, there are still some disadvantages.
The first one that has to be mentioned is that there is no Start Menu from Windows. Yes, there is no Start button in the lower left corner, and this might be a real puzzle of many Windows users. Also, many users have had a problem to get used to the new interface（界面）introduced by Windows 8. The biggest problem that is worth noticing is that Windows 8 was originally designed for touch screen users, and this may have a bad effect on desktop users who have gotten used to doing everything with the help of their keyboard and mouse.
1.What does “plus sides” in Paragraph 2 probably refer to?
A. Math symbols. B. Strengths.
C. New rules. D. Messages.
2.The most attractive aspect of Windows 8 is its .
A. fast rate B. complex passwords
C. unique experience D. new interface
3.From the text we can learn that Windows 8 .
A. no longer requires a password
B. was upgraded from windows 95
C. will be popular with desktop users
D. can be used on more than computers
4.Many Windows 8 users will face the problem that .
A. they don’t get accustomed to the new interface
B. they have to use fingerprints instead of buttons
C. keyboard and mouse can’t be used any longer
D. Start Menu is hidden in the lower left corner
Odland remembers like it was yesterday working in an expensive French restaurant in Denver. The ice cream he was serving fell onto the white dress of a rich and important woman.
Thirty years have passed, but Odland can not get the memory out of his mind, nor the woman’s kind reaction. She was shocked, regained calmness and, in a kind voice, told the young Odland. “It is OK. It wasn’t your fault.” When she left the restaurant, she also left the future Fortune 500 CEO with a life lesson: You can tell a lot about a person by the way he or she treats the waiter.
Odland isn’t the only CEO to have made this discovery. Instead, it seems to be one of those few laws of the land that every CEO learns on the way up. It’s hard to get a dozen CEOs to agree about anything, but most agree with the Waiter Rule. They say how others treat the CEO says nothing. But how others treat the waiter is like a window into the soul.
Watch out for anyone who pulls out the power card to say something like, “I could buy this place and fire you,” or “I know the owner and I could have you fired.” Those who say such things have shown more about their character than about their wealth and power.
The CEO who came up with it, or at least first wrote it down, is Raytheon CEO Bill Swanson. He wrote a best-selling book called Swanson’s Unwritten Rules of Management. “A person who is nice to you but rude to the waiter, or to others, is not a nice person,” Swanson says. “I will never offer a job to the person who is sweet to the boss but turns rude to someone cleaning the tables.”
1.What happened after Odland dropped the ice cream onto the woman’s dress?
A. He was fired.
B. He was blamed.
C. The woman comforted him.
D. The woman left the restaurant at once.
2.Odland learned one of his life lessons from .
A. his experience as a waiter
B. the advice given by the CEOs
C. an article in Fortune
D. an interesting best-selling book
3.According to the text, most CEOs have the same opinion about ________.
A. Fortune 500 companies B. the Management Rules
C. Swanson’s book D. the Waiter Rule
4.From the text we can learn that ________.
A. one should be nicer to important people
B. CEOs often show their power before others
C. one should respect others no matter who they are
D. CEOs often have meals in expensive restaurants
书面表达
请根据以下提示，并结合事例，用英语写一篇短文。
People are always looking for someone to look up to and imitate (模仿). However, you can set the example by changing yourself to become the person that people want to be like.
注意：①除诗歌外，文体不限； ②内容必须结合你生活中的一个事例；③文中不得透露个人姓名和学校名称；④词数不少于120，不得抄写提示语原句。
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短文改错
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，要求你在错误的地方增加、删除或修改某个单词。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写上该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（﹨）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写上修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从十一处起）不计分。
Dear Smith,
I have a good news for you. All senior three students will take part in a mountain- climbing activity in May 18th, which is intending to help reduce our pressure from study. So I’m writing to invite you to go along.
We plan to gather at the school gate at 8:20, weather permitting. Then they will set off at 8:30, heading for the mountains nearby on feet. After having a good time, we are supposed to go back school for lunch at about 12.
The suggestions are as following. You’d better wear strong and comfortably shoes so that you can enjoy the trip. A bottle of water and some snacks were also necessary in climbing. In addition, you can take with you a camera to get some photos taken.
Look forward to your reply.
Yours,
Li Yan
