We humans are superstitious, believing that Friday the 13th is bad luck and finding a penny is good luck. Here, then, are three of the most common superstitions.
Careful with that mirror
According to folktales, breaking a mirror is sure to bring yourself seven years of bad luck. The superstition seems to arise from the belief that mirrors don’t just reflect your image; they hold bits of your soul. That belief led old American Southerners to cover mirrors in a house when someone died, for fear that their soul might be trapped inside.
Like the number three, the number seven is often associated with luck. Seven years is a long time to be unlucky, so people have come up with solutions after breaking a mirror. These include touching a piece of the broken mirror to a tombstone or powdering the broken mirror.
Knock on wood
This phrase is designed to break away from bad luck: “Breaking that mirror didn’t bring me any trouble. Knock on wood.” The phrase may come from old tales about good spirits in trees or from an association with the Christian cross.
No umbrellas inside
…And not just because you’ll hurt someone’s eyes. Opening an umbrella indoors is supposed to bring bad luck. The origins of this belief vary from a story of an ancient woman who happened to have opened her umbrella moments before her house fell to the tale of a British prince who accepted two umbrellas from a visiting king and died within months.
1.What may bring good luck?
A. Dating on Friday the 13th. B. Knocking on wood.
C. Opening an umbrella inside. D. Breaking a mirror.
2.What should you do to drive bad luck away after breaking a mirror?
A. Hide the pieces for seven years. B. Put the pieces in a tombstone.
C. Cover the other mirrors in a house. D. Make the pieces into powder.
3.Which phrase may originate(起源) from religion?
A. Careful with that mirror. B. Knock on wood.
C. No umbrellas inside. D. Lucky number seven.
假如你是李华，你的加拿大笔友Dave想了解中国的传统节日“春节”，请你回复他的电子邮件，介绍“春节”及这个节日里的主要活动。
1.它是中国的传统节日之一；
2.家人团聚；
3.吃饺子、放焰火、走亲访友等其他活动。
注意：1.词数100左右；2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；3. 开头结尾已为你写好，不计入总数。
参考词汇：
春节the Spring Festival 放焰火set off fireworks
Dear Dave,
In your last letter, you asked me about the Spring Festival.____________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________
Yours sincerely,
Li Hua
英语课上，老师要求同桌同学相互修改作文，假设以下小作文为你同桌所写，请你对其进行修改。文中共有10处错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线(＼)划掉。
修改：在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
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(从第11处起)不计分。
Dear Bob,
I’m sorry to tell you that I cannot go to the bookstore with you on this Sunday, because something unlucky occurred to me in the PE class yesterday.
I was playing basketball with my friends while I jumped highly to catch the ball. Another student struck me on a leg accidentally, that made me break my leg. The situation made everyone nervous. However, I was sent to the nearest hospital as soon as possible. The doctor suggested that I rested until next Friday. I hope the change will not cause you too much troubles.
Shall I go on next Saturday morning? We can set out early so that we’ll have more time read and select books.
Yours,
Li Hua
Do you make friends1.(easy)? Do a wall-sit test and you’ll find out.
Researchers at the University of Oxford did 2.study with 101 participants aged between 18 and 34. Participants first 3.(fill) out questionnaires about their social lives, and they were then asked 4.(press)against a wall with their5.(knee) at right angles(直角)for as long as they could,6.can be really painful.
The results showed that the longer participants held the position, the bigger7.outer network---or distant friends they contacted once or twice a month—was. That was 8.the brain’s painkilling system is associated 9.both pain tolerance and social bonding, which means that the more active this system is, the10.(good) you are at both.
Dear girls,
The dream itself comes from hard work, some good luck and good timing. Here are some words of wisdom as you______your way in the world, from an entrepreneur(企业家)and your _____.
In high school, I wanted to be a politician. I left my hometown for college in Washington DC. There, I______that I loved to support women. It taught me that I’m a creative, strong leader and great at marketing.______, I moved to be the head of a national healthcare nonprofit. Becoming a mother opened my mind to______a breast pump bag(储奶袋)business. Now I______a highly successful company that I started up on my own.______what you are good at and what you are passionate about. Keep an open mind.
Failure is _____to your success. I won’t tell you to feel good about______. But I will tell you that every failure I’ve had along the way has absolutely made me _____
Failing the big math exam in high school was_______. I eventually passed, and I’ve ______failed an exam again. I learned from that______to ask for help. Now I ask for help in business______.
Being passed over for a significant job opportunity that I more than qualified ____hurt me. I was so depressed ______soon I got a big job at a national organization. It’s okay to get angry! Take that and _____it into positive action.
I’m proud to be a role _____to you as a mom and an entrepreneur. I hope I inspire you to believe that you can be ______you want and you can have everything on your list. It will be my pleasure to watch your life______before my eyes.
1.A. lose B. pay C. get D. make
2.A. aunt B. mama C. uncle D. papa
3.A. discovered B. informed C. imagined D. developed
4.A. However B. Therefore C. Otherwise D. Meanwhile
5.A. pushing B. taking C. launching D. pulling
6.A. run B. close C. leave D. work
7.A. Come out B. Work out C. Hold out D. Figure out
8.A. pleasant B. convenient C. critical D. different
9.A. justice B. failure C. courage D. honesty
10.A. worse B. bad C. well D. better
11.A. embarrassing B. exciting C. amusing D. inspiring
12.A. ever B. always C. never D. often
13.A. accident B. experience C. feeling D. memory
14.A. all the time B. of all time C. at a time D. in no time
15.A. on B. to C. for D. with
16.A. or B. so C. while D. but
17.A. turn B. put C. make D. get
18.A. example B. star C. symbol D. model
19.A. anything B. nothing C. everything D. something
20.A. fold B. unfold C. cover D. uncover
1.Moving from high school into college can be especially different because of the freedom students experience in college along with a new set of expectations.
In high school, students usually live at home, and their parents take care of all their physical needs such as food and housing. 2.Parents are also there to help with and make sure that the student’s homework is done. During the school day, students rarely have free time. They go directly from one class to another. Teachers are always around to tell the students what to do. 3.So students can often complete their homework and reading in a short time.
4.They may be responsible for shopping, paying bills, and laundry. They also may have to cook their own meals. Their parents are not around to help with homework or even to check that it has been done. Contrary to students in high school, students in college may have a lot of free time between classes, but must discipline themselves to use this time productively or homework and other assignments. 5.
A. Students do not usually have to shop for their food, take time to pay bills, or even do their own laundry.
B. High school students have to bury themselves in piles of papers
C. Finally, the work itself it not so challenging.
D. In contrast, in college, students often live away from home in dorms or apartments.
E. In college, students may apply to a bank loan and others will try to find part-time jobs.
F. Each new level of education brings new challenges and demands to students.
G. Most important, college requires a higher level of thinking and a lot more work than high school.
