The Children’s Book-Show Competition is a chance for young readers to be writers.
Reading, it seems, is coming back in fashion, if a survey by the famous National Literacy Trust (the NLT) is true. It shows that the percentage of children who admit enjoying reading has grown for the first time in the past 8 years.
So it’s a good time to launch a competition that includes a shed-load of new books for schools as prizes. The Children’s Book-show Competition, backed by The Independent, is taking to the roads again from the start of next term, with a nation-wide tour of 15 big cities, featuring a line-up of a dozen children’s writers and illustrators(插图画家)aiming to persuade pupils to follow their footsteps.
The competition, launched by the children’s writer and illustrator Jessica Souhami, has two categories: the under-nine’s and nine to 13-year-olds.
Children are asked to choose their favorite fairy or folk tale and set it in an extraordinary place.
Then they are to retell it with the aid of drawings and writings-whether it is set at sea, on a distant planet, in the future or in the past. The closing date for the competition is 30th November.
“Tell your tale in pictures and in words, ”say the organizers of the competition. “It can be in a picture book or comic-book format.”
The winner of each competition will receive a signed copy of a book by each of the 12 authors involved in this year’s tour, plus £150 worth of books for their school. The runners-up will receive a signed copy of Souhami’s new book.
1.What can we know about the Book-show Competition? _____
A. It will be held by the famous NLT.
B. It will be held in different cities.
C. It has never been organized before.
D. Children of all ages will join in it.
2.The underlined word “backed” in Paragraph 3 means_____.
A. started B. promoted
C. supported D. reported
3.What will be offered as a prize to schools? _________
A. Pictures and comic books
B. Books worth £150 in all.
C. Books signed by 12 authors.
D. Jessica Souhami’s new books.
4.The author’s purpose of writing this passage is to ______.
A. encourage young readers to become writers.
B. persuade all children to join in the competition
C. promote children’s books by famous writers.
D. introduce the Children’s Book-Show Competition
假如你是红星中学高一(1)班学生李华。你的美国笔友Mike对中国文化很感兴趣。他写信向你询问有关中国“重阳节”的情况。请你根据以下信息给他写一封回信进行简单介绍。
节日名称：重阳节(Double Ninth Festival)
节日类型：传统节日
时 间：每年农历九月初九
主要活动：出游赏秋，登高健身，拜访父母，吃花糕等
节日意义：敬老，爱老
参考词汇：阴历lunar year/lunar calendar，花糕：flower cakes
注意：1. 信的开头已为你写好；
2. 词数不少于60。
Dear Mike,
How are you! In your last letter, you asked me about Double Ninth Festival.______
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
At the U.S. Open championships in Flushing Meadows, New York last week, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) held an unusual youth press conference (新闻发布会). I say "unusual" because the main idea wasn't to promote the sport for young children. Yes, there was a youth tennis exhibition in which a group of fresh-faced kids from the area showed off their well developed skills. They used junior racquets and larger, low-pressure balls on a half-size tennis court－a way the organization supports as a means to help children have early success and stick with the game.
But the event's real purpose was to help parents realize the importance of introducing kids to all kinds of athletic programs rather than focusing specially on one. This may sound like something easy to do, but it's not. In today's achievement-oriented (成功向导 ) environment, children are being pushed to specialize in a single sport－whether it's tennis, hockey, soccer, or gymnastics － at ever-younger ages. Tom Farrey, executive director of the nonprofit Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program, says year-round sports programs are now offered down to age 5, too early an age for a child to limit himself or herself to a single activity. While parents naturally want the best for their child, they are being pressured by coaches to let him or her stick with one thing.
The result: More kids under age 12 are suffering injuries or, worse, burnout. According to the Aspen Institute's report, Project Play, fewer kids today are staying involved with sports than five years ago, partly because of forced specialization. Today's children are already on track to live shorter, less healthy lives than their parents because of obesity and related diseases, and this trend is only worsening matters.
Multi-sport participation, however, leads to better performance (because kids get a chance to develop different sets of skills ) and greater enjoyment of the game, says Farrey. The headlining athletes at the event repeated the idea that having kids do more than one sport is a plus (good for them).
1.According to Tom Farrey, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. Having kids do more than one sport is an advantage to their future career.
B. A child should limit himself to a single activity under the age of 5.
C. Parents are being pressured to let their kids stick with one sport.
D. Multi-sport participation leads to most kids' worse performance.
2.The underlined word "this" in paragraph 2 refers to ________.
A. introducing kids to many different sports instead of only one
B. inviting kids to only one sport instead of trying different ones
C. taking kids to only several different sports instead of too many
D. leading kids to any sport they like instead of trying many kinds
3. Fewer kids are staying involved with sports now than five years ago partly because they _______.
A. become too fat to take part in sports
B. have too much school work to complete
C. get too many injuries when they do sports
D. are pushed into specialized sport too hard
4.What's the best title for the passage?
A. The Importance of Doing Sports
B. The Necessity of Physical Education
C. Stop Specializing in Sports So Early
D. Develop Children's Athletic Abilities
Not long ago, people thought babies were not able to learn things until they were five or six months old. Yet doctors in the United States say babies begin learning on their first day of life.
Scientists note that babies are strongly influenced1 by their environment. They say a baby will smile if his mother does something the baby likes. A baby learns to get the best care by smiling to please his mother or other caregivers. This is how babies learn to connect and communicate with other human beings.
A study shows how mothers can influence social development and language skills in their children.
Researchers studied the children from the age of one month to three years. The researchers tried to measure the sensitivity2 of the mothers. The women were considered sensitive if they supported their children's activities and did not get involved unnecessarily. They tested the children for thinking and language development when they were three years old. Also, the researchers observed the women for signs of depression.
The children of depressed3 women did not do as well in tests as the children of women who did not suffer from depression. The children of depressed women did poorly in tests of language skills and understanding what they hear.
1. influence: to affect the way people behave or think
2. sensitivity: the ability to understand other people's feelings
3. depressed: very sad and without hope
These children also were less cooperative and had more problems dealing with other people. The researchers noted that the sensitivity of the mothers was important to the intelligence development of their children. Children did better when their mothers were caring, even when they suffered from depression.
1.When do babies begin learning according to doctors in the United States? (不多于5个单词)
2.Why do babies smile to please their mothers or other caregivers? (不多于6个单词)
3.In what tests did the children of depressed women do poorly? (不多于 7个单词)
4.What kind of mothers can help children have a better development? (不多于 2个单词)
用方框中单词的适当形式完成下列句子，每个单词只能使用一次。
suffer graduate bored fortunate confident include serve |
1.I'm applying for the volunteer guide in order to build my __________ in speaking in public.
2.It's not easy for many students to find a job after ________ from college at the moment.
3.Some people are wasting food while others are ________ from hunger.
4.He is so ____________ with the TV series that he doesn't watch it at all.
5.You have some duties, ____________ typing letters and answering phone calls.
6.In some parts of the world, tea is ________ with milk and sugar.
7.________________, the fire was discovered soon after it started and put out immediately.
根据括号中所给提示完成下列句子。
1.每天做作业占用了他很多时间。(take up)
2.学生们参加各种社会活动是非常重要的。(get involved with)
3.汤姆觉得独自完成这项工作有困难。(on one's own)
4. 她们努力拼搏直到职业生涯结束。(come to an end)
5. 即使有困难，他们依然会坚持做志愿者工作。(carry on)
