Boxwars is a fast-growing entertainment phenomenon that takes the childhood pastime of playing with cardboard boxes to a whole new level. Participants use cardboard to create weapons, trucks, tanks, huge animals and so on. Then they put on monumental battle shows during which every creation is completely destroyed!
Boxwars is the brainchild of Australian friends Hoss Siegel and Ross Koger, who came up with it nearly a decade ago over drinks. They did it at a party and had a great time, and then they decided to do it again.
With each new boxwar party, the suits and structures became more and more carefully prepared until they couldn't fit in their back gardens any more. So they moved the party to a local park on Boxing Day 2002, and people who were having barbecues at the park rushed over to watch them. And that's when they realized that their silly games actually had huge entertainment value.
That was the beginning of Boxwars. They go to the same spot every year on Boxing day.
Today, Boxwars builds complex structures for each themed battle. The sport has expanded beyond Boxing Day — it is now a part of nearly every major festival or event in Australia and around the world.
Boxwars is now run by the Boxwars Council, and has lots of fans across the globe. “One of our main aims is to bring cardboard back to the consumers who deserted it in the first place without realising its true potential,” the official website states. “Cardboard, or the street name ‘box’, we quickly discovered had brilliant properties for engineering. The limits of scale and awesomeness were continuously pushed to greater commanding heights with the development of our skills with this great thing.”
1.What can we infer about Boxwars?
A.America is its birthplace.
B.It is considered to be a waste of money.
C.Its first appearance was on Boxing Day 2002.
D.All the weapons made for it will be destroyed.
2.What is a main purpose mentioned in the text to run Boxwars?
A.To prepare people for possible war.
B.To exercise children’s ability of using hands.
C.To make people realize the use of deserted box.
D.To provide a chance to satisfy people's curiosity.
3.What did Hoss Siegel and Ross Koger think of their idea of Boxwars at first?
A.Significant and popular. B.Fun but foolish.
C.Interesting but expensive. D.Challenging but beneficial.
4.What might be the best title for the text?
A.Boxwars — a creative design B.Boxwars — a popular game
C.Boxwars — a new kind of box D.Boxwars — a fierce competition
Stephen Edwin King, one of the best-selling authors of all time, has inked numerous novels. He once received the ‘National Medal of the Arts’ from the US President Barack Obama and was called “one of the most popular and productive writers of our time”
His carrier as a novelist began with the creation of ‘Carrie’. At that time he was a teacher and during the summer vacation he did part-time work to earn a little money to make his ends meet. However, the publication of ‘Carrie’ was a milestone in his life and it also helped to better his standard of living.
His books earned him fame and money and not being able to deal with the sudden success that he turned to alcohol. His book ‘Cujo’ was written around that time and according to him, he does not remember having written it. The character of Jack Torrance in the novel ‘The Shining’ is a reflection of King himself, but after his family took to questioning him about his drinking habits, he quit and never went back to it.
His book ‘Rage’ was about a school shooter and his violent doings, which the author wrote under the penname Richard Bachman. Years later, some school kids did such horrible crime and said they had read the book ‘Rage’. For the greater good of the society, the author suggested the book not be printed any longer.
All knows him as an author but very few know that King, together with contemporary writers Mitch Albom, Amy Tan and cartoonist Matt Groening forms the band ‘Rock Bottom Remainders’ and they even perform once in a while.
Though creating horror stories, King often skips 13 as it petrifies him. In an interview he said, “When I’m writing, I’ll never stop work if the page number is 13 or a multiple of 13; I’ll just keep on typing till I get to a safe number.”
1.Which book had a great effect on King’s life?
A.Carrie B.Cujo
C.The Shining D.On Writing: A Memoir ofthe Craft
2.The underlined word “petrifies” in the last paragraph can be replaced by .
A.hates B.excites
C.frightens D.comforts
3.What can we know about King?
A.He is addicted to alcohol.
B.He has a sense of social responsibility.
C.He is also famous for his music talent.
D.He does part-time jobs to experience life.
Museums, art galleries and fantastic archaeological sites — they can all be inspirational reasons to travel. Below are several best culture and art group tours for 2017.
1. Caravaggio in Naples
Ace Cultural Tours is offering a new 10-day Route of Caravaggio, which explores the influence of the great painter Caravaggio on the art of his contemporaries and followers. Dr Peter Higginson guides the trip and highlights (亮点) include evening lectures and walking tours of old Valletta.
Departures between November and December,
2. Alexander the Great in Turkey
Offering the chance to be among the first to visit the brand new archaeological museum in Troy which opens early next year, this 12-day The Conquest of Asia Minor tour follows in the footsteps of Alexander the Great. The tour, led by Peter Sommer, includes visits to the temple of Apollo, the tomb of Achilles and the Castle of St Peter.
Departures between March and May,
3. The American dream
This new nine-day Museums of Washington DC and New York tour led by Dr Peter Smith offers visits to some of the US's most celebrated museums. It includes a private tour of the Museum of Modern Art before it opens its doors to the public. There are also stops at George Washington’s home at the White House.
Departures between August and October,
4. Capability Brown landscapes
The influence of landscape (风景) architect Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown's ‘natural’ style has had a deep impact on the English landscape tradition as well as garden styles worldwide. This four-day Brown landscapes tour, led by Dr Paula Nuttall, visits some of Brown’s most striking landscapes and parklands including Croome Court and Bowood House.
Departures between June and October .
1.When can visitors go to visit the Castle of St Peter?
A.In September. B.In November.
C.In April. D.In July.
2.What can visitors do on Route of Caravaggio?
A.Visit the temple of Apollo.
B.Go to Museum of Modern Art.
C.Learn something about a great artist.
D.Enjoy striking landscapes and parklands.
3.Who will lead visitors to visit the White House?
A.Dr Peter Smith. B.Dr Paula Nuttall.
C.Peter Sommer. D.Dr Peter Higginson.
4.Which tour can you choose if you only have a six-day holiday?
A.Route of Caravaggio.
B.Brown landscapes tour.
C.The Conquest of Asia Minor tour.
D.Museums of Washington DC and New York tour.
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。
A young man had bought an old house that was in bad shape, but he and his wife believed they could restore it. They immediately went to work. Their goal was to have the old building look best for New Year’s Eve get-together.
Just two days before New Year, however, a storm swept through the area, leaving a hole in the wall of the house. There was obviously no time to repair the damage before New Year. Then, the sad couple attended a local auction(拍卖)that afternoon. One of the items put up for bids was an old gold-and-ivory-colored tablecloth. Seized by an inspiration, the young man was the highest bidder at $ 6.50. His idea was to hang the cloth to cover the ragged hole.
On the day before New Year, it was snowy. As the young man unlocked the house door, he noticed an old woman standing at the bus stop. He knew the bus wouldn’t be there within at least half an hour, so he invited her inside to keep warm.
When the woman walked in and saw the tablecloth, she rushed at it and said excitedly, “It’s mine. It is my tablecloth.” She told the surprised man its history and even showed him her name in one comer of the tablecloth. She and her husband had once lived in Vienna, Austria, and their village was hit by a deadly disease. So they decided to flee to Switzerland, but her husband told her to leave first, saying he had something urgent to deal with. A few days later, it was reported that the bus her husband took fell off the cliff(悬崖)and he was never to be found. Her husband was believed to have died. Touched by her story, the young couple asked about her address, planning to send the tablecloth to her after New Year. As the bus came, she left.
In the candlelight of New Year’s Eve, the tablecloth looked even more beautiful. As the man’s friends left the house, they thanked the man for his arrangement and mentioned how beautiful the house looked.
注意：
1. 所续写短文的词数应为150词左右；
2. 至少使用5个短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4. 续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1：
Otte old gentleman stayed, admiring the tablecloth.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2：
The young man drove the old man to that old woman’s home.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
假如你是李华，最近你的美国笔友Robert来慈溪体验中国传统文化。你想邀请他一起去鸣鹤古镇尝一尝当地的特色手工年糕（New Year cake）。请根据以下内容要点写一封邀请信。
1. 活动时间、地点；
2. 鸣鹤年糕的特点；
3. 表达你的期望。
注意：1. 词数80左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Robert,
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
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。
Can you tell the time on an analog clock? 1. (hope), you can! It’s the only way for you to know the time when 2. (take) exams.
However, some high schools in the UK will remove analog clocks 3. exam halls and use digital.4. instead. The reason is that 5. (teenage) are unable to read the correct time on analog clocks. They are used to seeing the time on the phone, 6. on the computer. Nearly everything they’ve got is digital.
Teachers want their students to feel as 7. (relax) as possible during exams. However, having a 8.(tradition) clock in the room could make students feel stressed out during an exam Many of them might raise their hands to ask 9. time it is.
The schools are trying to make everything as easy and straightforward as possible for students during the exams. Another advantage of using digital clocks 10. (be) that students are less likely to get the time wrong.
