Crazy Festivals
Mike the Headless Chicken Festival
In 1945, farmer Lloyd Olsen attempted to cut off the head of Mike, a chicken, so his wife could cook it up for dinner. However, the bird didn’t die and lived another year and a half, making regular trips to the fair, where people paid a quarter to see the amazing headless chicken bird.
Today, the spirit of Mike the headless Chicken is celebrated with a two-day May festival in Fruita, Colorado, which includes live music, a golf tournament（锦标赛）, and lots of tasty chicken.
Roswell UFO Festival
In the summer of 1947, a flying saucer(碟状物) crashed on a large farm outside the town of Roswell, New Mexico. The government says it didn’t come from outer space, but many top UFO researchers believe it did.
Knowing a good thing when it crashes in their backyard, the citizens of Roswell celebrate the even every July with a three-day festival that features a costume contest, a parade and other activities. Be careful, though ---- that odd little person next to you could be from another planet.
World’s Largest Rattlesnake Roundup
The rattlesnake, a poisonous American snake, severs an important function in nature by keeping small pets under control, but when their numbers grow too large, they can cause serious problems for farmers. That’s why every March the residents of Sweetwater, Texas, host a three-day festival to connect with the town’s annual rattlesnake hunt.
Visitors can learn about rattlesnakes, take a bus tour of their natural habitat, participate in a rattlesnake eating contest and so on.
BugFest
Every September, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh sponsors (倡议) a daylong festival that focuses on something most people try to avoid: insects.
Visitors can hold bugs that are not native, cheer on racing insects and learn about beekeeping. But the highlight for many is Cafe Insecta, where bugs are the main ingredient (食材) in a variety of tasty dishes.
1. Llord Olsen cut off the chicken’s head because ____
A. his family wanted to eat it.
B. he wanted to sell its meat at the fair.
C. his family wanted to celebrate a headless chicken festival.
D. he wanted to make money by showing a headless chicken.
2.The underlined word “odd” could be replaced by ____.
A. irregular B. unusual C. accessible D. scary
3.What’s the purpose of the World’s Largest Rattlesnake Roundup? ____.
A. To increase the local tourism.
B. To protect rattlesnakes’ habitats.
C. To control the population of rattlesnakes.
D. To introduce the importance of rattlesnakes.
4. Which of the following is the earliest festival of the year? ____.
A. Mike the Headless Chicken Festival. B. Roswell UFO Festival.
C. World’s Largest Rattlesnake Roundup D. BugFest
书面表达
某英文杂志正在进行主题为"如何正确对待网络信息"的征文活动，请你根据以下提示，用英语写一篇短文向该杂志投稿。
1. 网络信息的特点；2. 如何分辨信息的真假；3. 如何处理不同的信息。
注意： 1. 词数100左右(开头已为你写好，但不计入总词数)；
2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
The Internet can be seen as a great source of information.
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短文改错
Most students go to Internet bars play video games, that takes much of their precious time. Some students even stayed in Internet bars day and night, forgot their studies. No doubt these students will finally end up with their bright future destroy. Furthermore, some student log onto unhealthy websites accidental. And they are finally absorbed to the excitement of reading unhealthy stories or watching dirty videos. All these are harmful to the teenagers and if only this is not controlled or the use of the Internet is not properly guided, some of us will go the wrong way.
语法填空
Happiness is like a pebble dropped into a pool to cause a circle of ripples. As Stevenson said, "Being happy is a duty."
There is no exact 1. (definite) of the word "happiness". Happy people are happy for all sorts of reasons. The key is not wealth or physical well-being 2. we find beggars, the disabled and so-called failures 3. are extremely happy.
Being happy is a sort of unexpected dividend(红利). But staying happy is an accomplishment, a triumph of the soul. It is not selfish to strive 4. it. It is, indeed, a duty to ourselves and 5. .
Being 6. is like an infectious disease. It causes people to shrink away from the sufferer. He soon finds himself alone and miserable. There is, 7. , a cure so simple that it seems, at first glance, ridiculous: if you don’t feel happy, pretend 8. (be)!
It works. Before long you 9. (find) that instead of annoying people, you attract them. You discover how deeply rewarding it is to be the center of a wider and wider circle of good will.
Then the make-believe becomes 10. reality. You possess the secret of peace of mind, and can forget yourself in being of service to others.
Once a young boy was walking with his father along a country road. When they discovered a very large tree branch by _____ , the boy asked his father _____ ,"Dad, do you think I could move that branch?"
His father _____ and said, "If you use all your strength, I’m sure you can." So the boy tried _____ to lift, pull and push the branch but he couldn’t move it.
Feeling _____ , he said, "Dad, you were wrong. I can’t do it."
His dad said, "Try again." This time, as the boy _____ to deal with the branch, his father joined him and _____ they pushed the branch aside.
"Son," the father said, "the first time you didn’t use all your strength. You didn’t ask me to help."
This is an important _____ . There are many things we can’t do _____ all by ourselves,
_____ that doesn’t mean we can’t get them done. We all are surrounded by _____ that can be worked together to help us _____ our goals including family, friends and faith. Sometimes we _____ to ask for help _____ pride or stubbornness. Sometimes we think it’s a sign of weakness to _____ we need a hand. And sometimes we don’t _____ think about asking for help. Whatever the _____ is, it’s a waste of time. It’s important that we learn to use all our strength that are _____ : this includes inner resources such as discipline, courage and love, and it also includes outer resources. Just as we should be ready to help others and we should be
_____ to ask for the help of others. It’s one of the great things about being human.
Few things in the world are more powerful than a(n) _____ push, a smile, a word of optimism and hope, a "You can do it!" when things are tough.
1.A.mistake B.nature C.order D.accident
2.A.proudly B.curiously C.sadly D.loudly
3.A.worried B.refused C.complained D.nodded
4.A.greatly B.slightly C.gradually D.naturally
5.A.surprised B.relaxed C.discouraged D.ashamed
6.A.promised B.attempted C.claimed D.agreed
7.A.slowly B.again C.fast D.together
8.A.lesson B.amusement C.decision D.advice
9.A.fortunately B.eventually C.regularly D.absolutely
10.A.and B.so C.but D.or
11.A.friends B.resources C.kindnesses D.difficulties
12.A.design B.score C.realize D.achieve
13.A.fail B.choose C.pretend D.need
14.A.instead of B.because of C.think of D.speak of
15.A.forget B.decide C.admit D.discover
16.A.even B.still C.already D.ever
17.A.strength B.matter C.help D.reason
18.A.available B.equal C.normal D.traditional
19.A.certain B.willing C.afraid D.likely
20.A.hard B.sudden C.positive D.obvious
I believe the very nature of writing is to set the writer free, not to impress readers. I encourage my students to write freely. By now we taste the good of free writing and enjoy it very much. And I imagine you may have tons of questions about free writing. First, how to improve my logic? 1.The power of writing has to do with its emotion, and logic, and therefore we try extra hard to be logical — but this kind of forced logic is not something we can force on ourselves, or on our writings. When we let our emotional voice come out freely, our logical voice will also come out — that is the charm of free writing. Read your own free writings, you will find many free writings are quite logical indeed. You are not that illogical as you thought of yourself.
2.Yes, sometimes our ideas are boring, and sometimes we are boring people — so what? Who says we have to be amazing all the time? Let’s respect our human reality. The good thing we need to do is to continue to write patiently. Persistence wins the battle. Sometimes the idea may seem boring to us, but as we continue to write, something else will come up. 3.Our writing does not have to be immortal(不朽的) or amazing. Writing is just a way to express ourselves. Please don’t worship writing.
Now, what if my writing often shows my dark side that I don’t want to see at all?
4.As human beings, we all have our dark sides. What is the right way for us to become better people? To face them honestly or to hide them and pretend they never exist? Honesty is always the best policy. Our dark sides need to be expressed, and free writing is a perfect outlet. The miracle is, after you express yourself truthfully, you will have less negative emotions, be more at peace with yourself, and have more compassion(同情) for others. 5. Many of my students have experienced the healing effects of free writing. And I believe you will experience the same wonderful healing.
A. This is a very honest question.
B. Logic is only one aspect of writing.
C. Then, what if my ideas are boring?
D. And free writing is exactly the opposite.
E. We write to free ourselves, and also to free others.
F. Have you ever wondered why free writing sets us free?
G. Our goal is not to amaze people, but to express ourselves.
