In 2005, I had a stroke and was taken into hospital. I was paralyzed down one side, with only a pad and a pen to ______ . But on my first day, after writing a note to the nurse, I found my right _______ wandering across the page. It was so ______ because I just copied a cartoon as a child, and I hadn’t drawn since then. The act was ______; ______ when a nurse asked me what I was doing did I look down to see patterns all over the paper.
From then on I woke up every night at 2 a.m. And kept drawing until dawn. It didn’t feel _______. I’d never drawn before in my life but now couldn’t _______.
The _______explained that very occasionally, following a stroke, a patient’s brain rewired itself to avoid the damaged area. Sometimes this can ______ a new ability in a patient: in my case, _______.
I’d never had the ______ interest in art in my life. I was an engineer by trade, and now, ______, memories and thoughts appeared to me as abstract ______ . It was just something that happened. Drawing had become like breathing: something I did instinctively and without _______.
In 2007, I heard about Second Life, the online virtual world. Inside, I _______art galleries selling digital art for real ______ and I decided to ______ my work for the first time. Two months later, someone ______ me saying he had bought two of my pictures online and wanted one in real life.
Now I’m a ______ artist—in my first year I’ve earned around ￡30,000. I’ve been featured in some art exhibitions, ______ many of my pictures appeared on the cover.
1.A. remember B. touch C. communicate D. grasp
2.A. leg B. arm C. foot D. hand
3.A. annoying B. comfortable C. boring D. strange
4.A. unconscious B. powerful C. useless D. stable
5.A. merely B. only C. just D. hardly
6.A. valuable B. normal C. complicated D. fascinating
7.A. ignore B. stand C. insist D. stop
8.A. artist B. scientist C. actor D. doctor
9.A. forbid B. adjust C. expose D. arrange
10.A. drawing B. writing C. singing D. thinking
11.A. deepest B. slightest C. strongest D. hardest
12.A. actually B. fluently C. logically D. suddenly
13.A. images B. ideas C. methods D. affairs
14.A. change B. style C. choice D. reaction
15.A. suggested B. enjoyed C. avoided D. discovered
16.A. money B. life C. interest D. program
17.A. show B. buy C. quit D. record
18.A. commanded B. praised C. contacted D. impressed
19.A. gifted B. hard-working C. professional D. wealthy
20.A. so B. but C. while D. through
Skating backwards on ice is a bit difficult but once you master the basis, there’s nothing like it. Follow the steps given below and you will be able to skate backwards in no time.
1.
The first thing that you need to do is, stand straight. If you feel that you are falling backwards, then just put your chin up and slightly bend your knees. Don’t worry; this happens to all.
2.
The most important step while learning how to skate backwards, is having enough confidence in yourself and in what you are doing. How can you achieve this? By practice, Just practice rolling backwards down a gentle slope every single day or just by pushing off from a wall or something of that sort.
3.
Confident now? Great! Now the next step is to maintain your speed．While rolling in a straight line with one skate, with the other try sculling(滑浆), that is, keep pushing yourself backwards with an outwards stroke(滑动)．Now bring the skate which you were using to scull, and then again, repeat the same process．Make sure that you put most of your weight on the skate which is moving straight and not the one with which you are sculling．Now, try the same thing using the other foot．Again keep doing this till you are confident enough．
4.
Once you are confident that you can scull with either foot, the next thing that you have to do is increase your speed．Try some of your own tricks now．Scull with either foot or with both at the same time．
5.
While you keep one foot straight, keep sculling with the other．You can do that simultaneously with both feet．Concentrate on what you are doing but don't get so involved that you don't see where you are going．If you are not watching your back, you might just bang against something or someone．
A. Find Another to Practise with You
B. Increase Your Speed Now
C. Gain Your Courage
D. Stand Straight
E. Maintain Speed
F. Scull and Be Aware
G. Confidence is What You Need
“Community” is not a concept that is easy to define (定义) . In this essay I will examine what turns individuals into a community, and discuss some different types. I will also look at what all communities have in common, the benefits they offer and draw conclusions about their increasing importance.
The word “community” may make you think of traditional communities in the developing world, where large families live together. We may also imagine the neighbours as people who are happy to help out whenever it is needed. The stereotpical(老套的) view is that of a village, where people have little but can feel very rich because everyone takes responsibility for the welfare of the others.
On the other hand, there are other types of communities: ultramodern(超现代的) ones, where the community members are unlikely to have actually met each other. These are online communities, where people blog or chat about particular issues that are important to them. They come across others on websites and may develop a relationship there with like-minded people, discussing the same topics. The view is often that these are artificial connections between people who are, in effect, still isolated(孤立的) strangers.
In reality, the connections are real. Moreover, there are many types of communities in between these extremes: people who join clubs, who sign up with voluntary, political or other organizations, or who take part in group discussions in their local area. They may be campaigning about issues or simply getting together for companionship and support.
Human beings are social by nature, so it should not be a surprise that we organize ourselves in groups. However, there is more going on: these groups provide something that we cannot achieve on our own. The main benefit of being part of a larger group is strength in numbers. For example, we can access and share more information, we can take part in team sports, we can complain and campaign more effectively and even if we are just having a chat, online or in person, we can feel supported in whatever we do.
Whatever forms communities take, what defines them is the sense of identity and safety that they provide for their members: the knowledge that there are people who we have something in common with and who can be relied on when we need each other.
1.In traditional communities, people_________.
A. live in a large family
B. are wealthy but unhappy
C. help and care about each other
D. are isolated and don't have connections
2.According to the text, online community members_________ .
A. develop a close working relationship
B. share opinions about issues on websites
C. communicate with each other in person
D. share the same interest but have no relations
3.Paragraph 5 mainly talks about___________.
A. the types of community
B. the culture of community
C. the benefits of community
D. the definition of community
4.Communities provide their members with___________.
A. a sense of identity and safety
B. a sense of social responsibility
C. chances of meeting new people
D. chances of developing their interests
After I mastered my first (协奏曲) at age 14, my parents decided to get me a nice violin. I tried out dozens of instruments before I found my match: a German violin. It was beautiful, but what I liked best about it was its voice. Confident and strong, it was everything I longed to be.
I'm not sure how much that violin cost, but my parents made me promise never to let it out of my sight. They didn't understand that dragging a large violin case ran counter to my daily middle school task of being invisible (看不见的). I was a strange, absent-minded kid. When I spoke up in class, my comments brought confused silence from teachers and wild laughter from students. Like a deer in a wolf pack, I tried to be quiet and still.
In contrast, my new violin was almost shockingly loud. Together, we could drown out the rest of my middle school orchestra(管弦乐队) — which was encouraged, since the other kids made sounds like cats’ crying. For one glorious hour every day, I was showered with attention. Everyone wanted to hear what I had to say.
Between classes, I bent under the combined weight of my violin case and a backpack filled with books. My posture suffered, but my confidence grew. With my violin by my side, I found my voice. More and more, I contributed to class discussions and even made a couple of friends.
Today, I'm just an amateur violinist with a regular day job. As I sit in my community orchestra, sometimes I feel jealous(嫉妒的) my fellow musicians’ instruments with their elegant voices. I may not be the best violinist around, but at least I'm still the loudest.
1.The underlined part “ran counter to” in Paragraph 2 probably means__________.
A. was similar to
B. went along with
C. was the opposite of
D. had something in common with
2.We know from Paragraph 2 that the author___________.
A. did not fit in at school
B. was an excellent student
C. was strong and confident
D. did not attend classes regularly
3.What kind of feeling is expressed in Paragraph 3?
A. Disappointment. B. Anger.
C. Pride. D. Regret.
4.What can we infer from the text?
A. The violin changed the author in some way.
B. The author hated the loud voice of his violin.
C. The violin always made the author embarrassed.
D. The author was the best violinist in his community orchestra.
Let’s look back all these years you’ve gone through, what have you done for your life? Are you spending your time wisely to make your life worthwhile? Neal Wu shared some ways we should do to make our short time of life meaningful, find out what you need to do next:
a. Make friends as opposed to networking
Your friends will go a lot further than the professional contacts you make, especially since only one of the two groups is invested in your personal happiness.
b. Become an expert by learning as much as you can and deeply seeking out the things you are curious about
Find the things you enjoy and practice the skills you want to develop. If you can achieve expertise then it will be easy to obtain an audience.
c. Volunteer to help out those less fortunate
In the process you will gain a ton of new perspective and will better understand other people’s real problems. In a society that always looks upward, these people are being forgotten easily.
d. Become as independent as possible
Even though you work in a big company, you should constantly make small steps to reduce your dependence on your job. Write a book, build an app, or start a small business on the side. Release your inner entrepreneur.
e. Don’t spend too much time worrying about your personal brand
Accomplish(完成) things, and the recognition will follow.
f. Stop treating life as a competition and do things for their own sake
Genuine(真正的) interest should be what drives you to improve yourself, rather than a desire to beat others. Find a community of people who are interested in the same things as you do, and drive each other to keep improving.
1.How many ways to make life meaningful did Neal Wu share?
A. 4 B. 5
C. 6 D. 7
2.To make your life meaningful, you are advised to __________.
A. protect yourself and hardly help others
B. communicate more with the experts than your friends
C. rely more on your families than friends
D. explore the aspects of life you are interested in
3.What’s the meaning of the underlined words personal brand?
A. one’s particular interest shown in some aspects
B. an impression in the mind of others about an individual or group
C. something you are concerned about
D. private possessions
4.Where can you most likely to find this article?
A. The News of the World B. The New York Times
C. Life D. Scientific World
Gemini Television is a large independent broadcaster（广播公司）. They have had success in television with mini-series and situation comedies. Recently the company has decided to move into film--making.
They have received some film projects from directors working in different countries.
Title: Hands up for Happiness
Genre (类型): Romantic(浪漫的) comedy
Plot(情节): Two pairs of twins, one Italian and one Russian, meet and start relationships. They have problems telling the difference between each twin. Will they end up with the right person?
Cast(演员阵容): Unknown actors as need to be real twins.
Special features: Very romantic locations, e.g. Venice, St. Petersburg.
Budget: $40-50 million at most.
Audience: 20-35 year olds.
Title: Alien Attack
Genre: Science fiction
Plot: Story takes place 500 years in the future. The Earth is attacked by aliens. A small group survive the attack and try to save the planet. Will they succeed before the aliens reproduce?
Cast: To be decided (by the director) .
Special features: Shocking special effects, exciting visually.
Budget: $60-80 million at most.
Audience: 15 upwards.
Title: Exit Strategy
Genre: Thriller
Plot: A woman picks up the wrong bag at an airport and is mistaken for a foreign agent who has secret documents. She is tracked around the world by criminals, government agents and the real owner of the bag.
Cast: Major Hollywood star as lead actress (undecided).
Special features: Many locations around the world, lots of twists and turns in the story, strong possibility for a follow-up, and for turning the lead character into a female James Bond (a character from serial films).
Budget: At least $100-120 million.
Audience: 15 upwards.
Title: Midnight Sun
Genre: Action / Adventure
Plot: A story of family honour, revenge(复仇) great love and of good vs. bad. A young Japanese man brought up in the USA returns to the country of his birth. He discovers the dark secret of the family, and the reason he was brought up in the USA. His search for the truth leads him to the Philippines and to the beautiful princess Satsuki.
Cast: Young, unknown actors.
Special features: Excellently designed fight scenes.
Budget: $50-70 million at most.
Audience: Worldwide, but probably over 18 due to violence.
1.What are specially needed to produce Alien Attack?
A. Two pairs of twins.
B. Impressive fight scenes.
C. Amazing special effects.
D. Very romantic locations.
2.Which of the following films may be turned into a series?
A. Alien Attack. B. Exit Strategy.
C. Midnight Sun. D. Hands up for Happiness.
3.The four films mentioned in the text.
A. are of the same type
B. all have fight scenes
C. haven’t decided on the actors
D. are all intended for teenagers
