The adolescent girl from Tennessee was standing on the stage of a drama summer camp in New York. It was a beautiful day. But the girl didn’t feel beautiful. She was not the leggy, attractive Hollywood type. In fact, she described herself as stupid.
Her name is Reese Witherspoon. Since Reese Witherspoon was six years old, she had admired and respected Dolly Patton, who was a famous country singer. For three years she had gone all out to act, dance and sing, fancying that she could be another dolly Patton.
However, at the end of the camp her coaches told her to forget about singing. They suggested she think about another career. She took their words to heart. After all. why shouldn’t she believe the professionals?
But back at home in Nashville, her mother-a funny, happy, optimistic woman-wouldn’t let her feel depressed. Her father, a physician, encouraged her to achieve in school. So she worked hard at everything and was accepted at Stanford University.
And at 19, she got a part in a low-budget movie called Freeway, which prepared for her role in the movie Pleasantville. But her big break came with Legally Blonde.
“If you can’t sing and you aren’t charming, play to your strengths. If you’re going to make it in this business, better focus on what you’re good at,” she told the interviewer later.
And then came the offer that took her back to her Nashville-playing the wife of a country star Johnny Cash, a singing role. All of a sudden the old fears learned on that summer stage were back. She was so nervous on the stage. But she didn’t give up on the movie or herself. She spent 6 months taking singing lessons again. She learned to play the Autoharp. And the hard work built up her confidence.
Last March, Reese Witherspoon walked up on another stage, the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, and accepted the Oscar as Best Actress for her heartbreaking, heartwarming singing role as June Carter Cash in Walk the Line.
1.Why was Reese Witherspoon sad at the end of the camp?
A. She was described foolish
B. She was told to give up singing
C .She failed to be famous
D. She had to go back home
2.What was Reese’s parents’ response after her coaches suggested her giving up singing?
A. They agreed with her coaches
B. They only focused on her study
C. They ignored her frustration
D. They encouraged her
3.How did Reese succeed in playing the singing role?
A. By regaining her confidence through hard work
B. By practicing autoharp for over 6 months
C. By making herself leggy and attractive
D. By forgetting that summer stage
4.Which is the best title for the passage?
A. A successful actress B. Reese Witherspoon
C. Never give up D. Fortune is important
Here is some information from a tourist guide to Patapsco Valley state Park Maryland, USA.
Wildlife and Nature Appreciation
While visiting Patapsco Valley State Park, you will see a variety of natural habitats. Throughout spring and fall, dogwoods, maples, redbuds, and many varieties of wildflowers color the forest. This park is also home to many small mammals and birds. If you pause during your journey through tile forest, you are likely to see rabbits, grey squirrels, and red foxes. Along the banks of tile river, birdwatchers will spot Canada geese and wood ducks all year round
Fishing
The Patapsco River meanders through the park and is a popular attraction for anglers (钓鱼者). The Department of Natural Resources' Fisheries Service assigns the river as a put-and-take fishery(渔场) with adult rainbow and brown trout in spring and fall. Anglers also enjoy catching naturally reproducing smallmouth and largemouth bass, bluegill, redbreast sunfish and yellow perch.
Fishing opportunities have been specially set aside at Lost Lake for youth under 16 and seniors 62 years of age and older. This area is also designed for anglers with disabilities.
Trails
Adventure seekers will enjoy hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding on the park's popular trail system. More than 17 miles of challenging and rough single track trails follow the ridges, steep hillsides and stream valleys in the park. These trails are also excellent gateways for wildlife viewing, bird watching and general nature appreciation. Please respect the rights of nearby private property owners by using only blazed (有路标的) trails. Remember that the park is a natural area with certain dangers, such as poison ivy, slippery trail surfaces, insects, etc. You are responsible for having the necessary skills, knowledge and equipment for a safe visit.
Discover History Along the Trail
Enter another time as you explore Patapsco’s trails. Layer upon layer of history tells the story of man’s interaction with nature. Native American hunted, gathered and fished here for centuries. In the 1700s, the valley became one of the earliest sites for America’s Industrial Revolution. Early settlers cut down trees for charcoal used to fire iron furnaces(熔炉). The river’s current was dammed and channeled to power iron, paper, grain and textile mills (纺织厂). Towns and tobacco farms were established throughout the valley.
1.Which of the following is forbidden to fish at Lost Lake?
A. A pupil in grade six
B. A 30 - year - old woman without disability
C. An old man in his seventies
D. A person in a wheelchair
2.While walking along the trails, tourists are reminded to _________.
A. feed the birds they meet
B. visit some private buildings
C. pay attention to self- protection
D. protect the natural environment
3.The passage is mainly about the park's _________.
A. long history B. beautiful scenery
C. main attractions D. official rules
书面表达
请阅读下列短文，并按照要求用英语写一篇150词左右的文章。
Following a four-day meeting of the Communist Party of China Central Committee in Beijing, the central government announces that China allows two children for every couple.
The People's Congress at provincial level or its standing committee has revised local regulations or made new ones, with the support and guidance of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, Jiang said.
"The number of new births will definitely increase in the coming years and we estimate that the peak will be over 20 million newborn babies," said Wang Pei'an, vice-minister of the National Health and Family Planning Commission.
At present, about 60 percent of China's child-bearing women are over 35 years old, which means an increase of 'elderly' mothers will be witnessed in China in the next few years, Wang said in a news release on Friday.
"It's safe to say that the two-child policy won't bring huge pressure on food security and basic public services, such as health, education and employment," Wang said. He estimated that another 30 million working people aged between 15 and 59 will be added by 2050. "It will benefit economic growth in the long term," Wang added.
【写作内容】
1. 有约30个单词写出上文概要；
2. 有约120个单词就“二胎政策”这一话题谈谈你的看法，内容包括：
（1）你同意你父母亲生二胎吗？表明你的态度并说明理由（至少2点）；
（2）试分析中国实行二胎政策的好处。（至少两点）
参考词汇：兄弟姐妹：sibling
【写作要求】
1. 在作文中可以参照阅读材料的内容，但不能直接引用文中原句。
2. 作文中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称。
3. 不必写标题。
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任务型阅读
The hottest apps
IF you’re one of those people who likes to take a look at their phone from time to time, you’re not alone. Using apps has now become part of everyday life. But with so many on the market that claim to be the best, which ones should you download onto your phone to have fun with? Below, four have been picked out for you.
Evernote
In the world of note taking, Evernote is the king. It allows users to create electronic files such as text, photos, audio, and videos. It also lets you organize your files, tag (标记) them, and search them easily.
One of the most useful features on the app, though, is being able to log onto any device with your Evernote account and use your files. The app automatically stores your content in the cloud storage, and syncs (同步) it with your other devices.
Another feature that is new in the latest version of the Evernote app is “Places”, which allows you to sort the files, photos, audio or video you have created by the location where you created them.
So if you need some organization in your life, Evernote is the app for you.
Candy Crush Soda Saga
The original Candy Crush Saga took the world by storm, leaving millions addicted to its endless candy-popping levels.
But now there is a new challenge: Candy Crush Soda Saga. The app is similar to the original, but different enough to draw you in with a few new features. The app is still a match-3 game, which means that you have to move a piece of candy until there are three matching ones.
There are a few new features, though, such as soda bottles, which burst into purple liquid when you match three of them. There are also hidden gummy (粘性的) bears in this new version, and to complete the levels, you must clear the candies to reveal the hidden bear. These new features make the game a little harder than the old version, and you can expect to spend more time on each level.
So if you liked the original Candy Crush game, Candy Crush Soda Saga will be a new treat with much of the same fun as before.
Moment Cam
Moment Cam brings you some of the most useful and wanted features a camera app can have, such as adjusting the flash, sequence shots (连拍), adjusting the timer, and selecting different-sized frames for photo sharing sites. But what sets the app apart from all the others is the selection of simple, minimal buttons that you hardly notice are there.
The best thing about the app is not what it does, but what it leaves out. For once this app is not full of too many confusing and useless features. Instead, it is simple, clean, and easy to use. If you love taking photos on your phone, Moment Cam might be just what you never knew you were looking for.
Lychee FM
You may have listened to a lot of radio programs. Do you now dream of making your own? With Lychee FM, you no longer need expensive hardware and complex software to do just that. You can record your shows and finish editing them within the app. Then you can upload your program to all the listeners on Lychee FM or share it through your social networks.
Apart from making your own programs, you can also listen to more than 15,000 stations through Lychee FM. One such popular show is called nühanzi, meaning “tough girls”. It discusses how women can handle just about everything. There are also shows on many other topics like sports, comedy, and music. The hosts include famous people such as music producer Gao Xiaosong, and many other creative people.
The hottest apps
Reasons for 1. | *Using apps has now become part of everyday life. *With so many on the market 2. to be the best, it’s hard to decide which one should be downloaded. |
3. of apps | 4. and comments |
Evernote | *It allows users to create files such s text, photos, audio, and videos. *It also enables your files to get 5. and tagged. *Another new feature in the latest version is “Places”, which allows you to sort the content. |
Candy Crush Soda Saga | *There are hidden gummy bears in this new version. *The old version is not6. than the new one. *The app is 7. to the original, but different enough to be a new treat with much of the same fun as before. |
Moment Cam | *The selection of simple, minimal buttons that you hardly notice is 8. the app differs from all the others. *It is simple, clean and easy to use. |
Lychee FM | *With the app, you no longer need expensive hardware and complex software to make your own radio programs. *9. making your own programs, you can also listen to more than 15,000 stations through the app. *The shows10. many topics like sports, comedy, and music. The hosts include many famous and creative people. |
What will higher education look like in 2050? That was the question addressed Tuesday night by Michael Crow, president of Arizona State University.
“We’re at the end of the fourth wave of change in higher education,” Crow began, arguing that research universities followed the initial establishment of higher education, public colleges, and land-grant schools in the timeline of America.
In less than a half-century, he said, global market competition will be at its fastest rates of change ever, with several multitrillion-dollar economies worldwide. According to a recent projection, the nation’s population could reach 435 million, with a large percentage of those residents economically disadvantaged. In addition, climate change will be “meaningfully uncontrollable” in many parts of the world.
The everyday trends seen today, such as declining performance of students at all levels, particularly in math and science, and declining wages and employment among the less educated, will only continue, Crow maintained, and are, to say the least, not contributing to fulfilling the dream of climbing the social ladder mobility, quality of life, sustainable environment, and longer life spans that most Americans share.
“How is it that we can have these great research universities and have negative-trending outcomes?” Crow said in a talk “I hold the universities accountable. … We are part of the problem.”
Among the “things that we do that make the things that we teach less learnable,” Crow said, are the strict separation of disciplines, academic rigidity, and conservatism, the desire of universities to imitate schools at the top of the social ranks, and the lack of the computer system ability that would allow a large number of students to be educated for a small amount of money.
Since 2002, when Crow started being in charge at Arizona State — which he calls the “new American university” — he has led more than three dozen initiatives that aim to make the school “inclusive, scalable, fast, adaptive, challenge-focused, and willing to take risks.”
Among those initiatives were a restructuring of the engineering and life sciences schools to create more linkages between disciplines; the launch of the School of Earth and Space Exploration and the School of Sustainability; the start of a Teachers College to address K-12 performance and increase the status of the Education Department at the university; and broadened access, increasing the freshman class size by 42 percent and the enrollment of students living below the poverty line by 500 percent.
Universities must start, Crow noted, “by becoming self-reflective architects, figuring out what we have and what we actually need instead of what legend tells us we have to be.” Research universities today have “run their course,” he added. “Now is the time for variety.”
During a discussion afterward, Crow clarified and expanded on some of his points. He discussed, for example, the school’s distance-learning program. “Nearly 40 percent of undergraduates are taking at least one course online,” he said, which helps the school to keep costs down while advancing interactive learning technologies.
He said that Arizona State is working to increase the transfer and completion rates of community-college students, of whom only about 15 percent, historically, complete their later degrees. “We’ve built a system that will allow them to track into universities,” particularly where “culturally complex barriers” beyond finances limit even the most gifted students.
1.The fourth wave of change in America’s higher education refers to _______.
A. public colleges
B. land-grant schools
C. research universities
D. initial higher education
2.Which is NOT part of the American dream most people share?
A. People enjoy a quality life.
B. People live longer and longer.
C. The freedom to move around.
D. An environment that is sustainable.
3.Which is an initiative adopted by Crow at Arizona State University?
A. Restructuring the teachers College.
B. Launching the School of Life Sciences.
C. Ignoring the linkages between disciplines.
D. Enrolling more students from poor families.
4.Which one is similar to the underlined word “architect” in meaning?
A. The author of the guidebook is an architect by profession.
B. If you want to refurnish the house, consult the architect.
C. Deng Xiaoping is one of the architects of the PRC.
D. Tom is considered one of the best landscape architect here.
5.With the distance-learning program, Arizona State University is able to ______.
A. enroll 40% of its students online
B. keep costs down without a loss of quality
C. provide an even greater number of courses
D. attract the most gifted students all over the world
Today, many species of animals and plants are endangered. This means they are in danger of becoming extinct and living on only in the pages of history books. The famous dodo is a classic example of a creature that became extinct. A flightless bird that lived on the island of Mauritius, it was discovered by sailors in 1598 but was hunted to extinction by 1681.
Hunting has caused the Bengal tiger and the African elephant to be endangered today but habitat destruction can also lead to extinction. This is equally true for plants. Animals and plants disappear for other reasons too, but the main cause is often a disruption（打乱，破坏） in the natural food chain, whether due to hunting, habitat destruction, or even the introduction of alien species.
The natural food chain is the cycle that governs the existence of all life on this planet. It is a carefully balanced cycle and any imbalance that occurs can cause knock-on effects that have serious consequences. At the beginning of the natural food chain are plants which turn sunlight into energy and draw nutrients from the earth. Plants are called producers.
After the producers come the consumers. There are three tiers of consumers. First are creatures such as plant-eating animals, fish and insects which feed off the producers. These animals that only eat plants are called herbivores. The second tier of consumers are carnivores - animals that live off other animals. The third tier of consumers eats both other animals and plants. These consumers, including most humans, are called omnivores.
After animals and plants die, they become food for other smaller creatures, such as bacteria and some plants, such as fungi. As they feed, these creatures turn the dead bodies back into gases and minerals which are again food for the producers at the beginning of the food chain. And so the cycle continues.
All of nature is connected and governed by hundreds of these delicate food chains and if a single plant in the chain cannot survive, then the insects that live off the plant start to die and the animals that eat the insects also start to die.
When a food chain is disrupted, the consequences can be extremely serious. One estimate suggests that for each plant species that is lost, up to 30 animals and insects may also die out. One wonders how many species were affected by the extinction of the dodo?
Humans can have disastrous effects on food chains. We've already mentioned hunting but now let's look at travel. When people first started to explore the world they took plant and animal species from their home countries and introduced them wherever they went. They didn't realize that by introducing alien species they were disrupting the natural food chains of the areas they discovered. Although there are strict rules in place today controlling the import and export of alien species, some places are still fighting the effects of aliens introduced hundreds of years ago.
For example, Gough Island in the South Atlantic Ocean is a breeding ground for albatrosses that have been nesting there for centuries. But in the 19th century, mice from passing ships were brought to the island. Being a species alien to the island, they had no natural predators and have now grown to such a size that they are attacking and killing albatross chicks. If they are allowed to continue, they will wipe out the albatross population.
With import laws and people's rising awareness of how humans affect the natural environment, hopefully we can learn to fit better into the natural food chains that govern our world. Otherwise we need to accept that the loss of any more plants and animals could eventually mean our own extinction.
1.What do the first two paragraphs mainly tell us?
A. Hunting and habitat destruction lead to extinction.
B. Many species of animals and plants are endangered.
C. Plants and animals become extinct for the same reasons.
D. The main cause of extinction is often a disruption in the natural food chain.
2.Which of the following sentence is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Strict rules alone can remove the bad effects of alien species.
B. Plants, herbivores and carnivores are the three tiers of consumers.
C. If a bird becomes extinct, the relevant food chain will be disrupted.
D. Animals and plants become extinct because alien species are imported.
3.By mentioning the mice in Gough Island, the author intends to highlight ______.
A. mice worldwide are growing all the time
B. being aliens, they had no natural predators
C. some places are still fighting the effects of aliens
D. traveling can have disastrous effects on food chains
4.What is the best title of the passage?
A. Survival of the fittest.
B. Endangered animals and plants.
C. How to protect the natural environment.
D. The link between food chains and extinction.
