What I like to advise people is to find out what it is that makes them happy. What do you love to do? If you truly love what you do just go ahead and try to make a living by doing it. People will throw money at you to do it. But you will always have to work hard at it. I have to draw every single day of my life. I have to draw about 20 ideas. My advice is to put aside a certain amount of time every day and make you draw or whatever, especially when you don’t feel like it. Only in this way will you be able to perfect your talent.
The first step you take is to go to your local library and ask for the publications issued in the current years. When you get these publications, try to find the names of the top people concerned and their presidents. After you find these, write down their names and addresses. Keep this list and update it every year. Next thing you want to do is to create at least 40 cartoons. Get a grid（格子） from one of the strips in the newspapers, enlarge it to whatever size you wish and draw inside this grid. Now take the best 20 of your ideas and make them into finished pieces. To do this, you would want to copy them in ink because if you were a professional cartoonist, that was what you should do. Now you can reduce the size of the finished cartoons to fit onto a regular comic’s page. By comparing yours with the others already in print, it gives you a good idea of clarity to your cartoon.
The next step is to write letters to presidents of the publication. In the letters, explain who you think would read your work, or in other words, what group do you think you would target. After you complete these, send all of your information enclosed with letters in the appropriate envelope.
Now as soon as you send out these letters, start to create a brand new strip with all new characters. Don’t___________because if your idea gets turned down then you will give up. And always remember. If you receive a rejection from any of them, keep in mind that you are working on something better. You will be working on something new and more exciting and the rejection letter will not have any impact. With this in mind…
1.What is the advice from the writer in the first paragraph when you want to succeed in your life?
A. Stop doing anything until you find something quite suitable for your future career.
B. Put aside a certain amount of time every day to consider how to make a living.
C. Make a living by something that you truly like to do as your profession and work hard at it.
D. Perfect your talent only by drawing some cartoons.
2.The purpose of writing a letter to the president was to ____.
A. get some money to support the later career
B. enclose the information on how to become cartoonists with the letter
C. focus his attention on the work
D. explain who would be the readers of the work
3.The underlined phrase “get married to one idea” in the last paragraph probably refers to ______.
A. having a strong desire to get married
B. fixing all attention on one idea
C. marrying someone is a good ideas
D. refusing one idea to get married
阅读下面短文，根据所给情节进行续写，使之构成一个完整的故事。
Yoghurt
It was a rough week. The price of oil skyrocketed as the temperature dropped sharply in Maine. We were looking at a high of eight degrees that week, and I had missed three days of work so my paycheck was going to be lower than normal. I was stressed, to say the least. I shopped strategically, looking for every possible way to cut pennies so I could buy groceries and keep the house warm.
My eight-year-old son didn't understand when I told him we were struggling that week. He wanted a special kind of yoghurt, but I didn't have the extra three dollars to buy it for him. It was the kind of yoghurt with a cartoon kid riding a skateboard on the front of the box, and a mere two spoonfuls in each cup. It was the kind of product that wastes a parent's money and makes me hate advertising.
I felt guilty as a parent when those big eyes looked at me with confusion, as if to say, “It's just yoghurt. What's the big deal?” So I found a way. I put something back as single mothers often do. He got his yoghurt.
On the way driving back from the grocery store, I noticed a homeless man holding a sign by the side of the road. My heart hurt, and I tried not to look at him. I watched people stay away from him on the street and walk by without even meeting his eyes. My son didn't seem to care much, either. I looked at the man closely then — bare hands grasping a piece of cardboard, snot (鼻涕) frozen to his face, a wornout jacket. And there I was struggling because I had to buy oil and groceries. But I decided to help. I pulled over to the man and handed him a five-dollar bill.
注意：1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
3. 续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1:
Seeing this, my son became confused and surprised.
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Paragraph 2:
On that day, my son performed an act that most adults wouldn’t have done.
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假如你是李华，获知你的英国朋友Eric在汉语书法比赛中获得一等奖。请你给他写一封邮件，内容包括:
1. 表示祝贺；
2. 赠送名家字帖。
注意:1. 词数80左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
参考词汇:字贴 calligraphy copybook
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阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。
People love the view of old buildings in Paris, especially Notre Dame Cathedral(巴黎圣母院). 1.(fortunate), on April 16, a fire destroyed the spire(尖顶) of the 850-year-old cathedral, and two-thirds of the roof. Flames could be seen 2.(rise) through the top of the monument. The citizens in Paris gathered around the cathedral, praying 3. the hundreds of firefighters who fought the flames. 4. was no wonder that people felt sad. The church itself after all, is a historical and artistic treasure. 5.(build) in 1163, it is one of the world’s most famous tourist sites, attracting about 12 million 6.(visit) every year.
Notre Dame Cathedral is home to many 7.(religion) artworks, paintings and sculptures. Despite its long history and many treasures, the cathedral 8.(need) the help of a writer to become truly famous. Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, presented the building to 9. wide audience of readers. He wrote the book to remind people of it, with the hope 10. they would protect the beautiful old buildings of Paris.
Just a few months earlier, I would never have pictured myself acting in a play in front of two hundred people. If not for my ________, Mrs. Sather, I might never have found that opportunity.
In the first and second grade, I was extremely ________ It just wasn’t in my personality to be very outgoing. I would escape in my writing. Mrs. Sather, always ________ me to write more. I think she was one of the first people to see my inner _________
One day, she announced our class was going to ________ a play, a take off on The Wizard of Oz. “I need someone to play the lead part of Dorothy.” A few excited hands ________ Mine, of course, was not one of them.
After school, Mrs. Sather said to me, “Dallas, I was ________ you didn’t raise your hand. You’re great at memorizing things, and you have such a sweet personality. Perfect for Dorothy! I had you in ________ for Dorothy while writing the play! If you ________ don’t want to, though, I won’t make you. It’s your ________.”
I realized it was time to show the world who I really was. I ________ the role. Fast-forward through five months of ________, line memorizing, and costume creating, we were ready.
At the end of the play, when the audience stood and applauded, I knew they were not just ________ for my performance that night, but for the ________ that they knew would come in later years because of my newfound _________
1.A.partner B.teacher C.parent D.classmate
2.A.shy B.weak C.energetic D.ambitious
3.A.recommended B.allowed C.encouraged D.accompanied
4.A.drawback B.peace C.character D.strength
5.A.perform B.watch C.write D.enjoy
6.A.put down B.reached out C.shot up D.drew back
7.A.excited B.amused C.afraid D.surprised
8.A.store B.mind C.memory D.comparison
9.A.initially B.really C.finally D.spiritually
10.A.turn B.choice C.luck D.fault
11.A.accepted B.played C.created D.remembered
12.A.practicing B.learning C.observing D.communicating
13.A.celebrating B.chatting C.cheering D.congratulating
14.A.praises B.efforts C.beliefs D.performances
15.A.skill B.confidence C.interest D.hobby
The dictionary isn’t forever. What happens to a word when its popularity starts to decline? Here’s how the process of deleting a word from the dictionary works.
The dictionary is actually a steadily enlarging volume. 1. New words arise from emerging and expanding disciplines. Definitions also change and shift, so common words gain new meanings. On the other hand, there are also words that become outdated. 2.
Who decides which words to delete? 3. While adding a word to the dictionary is a precise process, it’s even more difficult for a word to get deleted. Editors maintain and study vast language databases to keep up-to-date on the words in circulation across various media.
The Oxford English Dictionary covers the English language over the last 1,000 years, and it’s considered definitive and authoritative. 4. And each has its own process for additions and removals.
5. A 2019 petition(请愿)with 30,000 signatures calls for the Oxford English Dictionary to remove sexist language and definitions, especially those terms under the word “woman.” And Merriam-Webster recently changed definitions of identity-related words to reflect new cultural meanings around fairness.
A. Some new words might be out of date one day.
B. As a result, words get removed from the dictionary.
C. Dictionary additions and deletions reflect social changes.
D. It’s up to the dictionary editors to make the final decision.
E. That’s because the English language constantly develops and changes.
F. These are often the types of words that will make it into dictionaries.
G. However, there are many other dictionaries that are reliable and trustworthy.
