假定你是李华，你的美国笔友打算参加湖南卫视举办的 “汉语桥”大赛，请根据以下内容用英语给写一封信，介绍相关情况。
主要内容：
1. 报名时间：5月31号以前 。
2. 举办时间：9月10号 。
3. 参赛人员：非本土汉语使用者。
4. 比赛内容：汉语听、说、读、写能力、中国传统知识文化和技能。
注意：1. 词数100左右。
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
3. 开头和结尾已为你写好，不计入词数。
Dear Jim,
How are you recently?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅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。
There are several ways improve our English writing kills, such as keeping a diary, learning some good writings with heart, doing a lot of reading, ect. As for me, I prefer keeping a diary. Comparing with other forms of writing, keeping a diary is easier and take less time. Beside, it can help us form the habit of thinking in English. If we can keep this practice, and we will gradually learn how to express us in English. What’s more, keeping a diary can be like talking about one of our close friend, sharing our happiness or sadness. In the word, keeping a diary is a good way of improving our written English.
阅读下面短文，在空白处填写1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
Windsor Castle is surrounded by a lot of green gardens in the English countryside. It looks out onto the River Thames and sits next 1. a hunting ground. It was built just outside of London 2. (protect) the capital from the enemies on the west side.
Windsor Castle is the oldest and largest castle 3. (occupy) in the world. The castle has a long, rich and troubled history. 4. the castle walls could talk, they’d have many stories to tell.
Kings were born and 5. (die) here. It’s been used as the home of kings and queens for centuries. However, it was also used as a prison during the English Civil War II, the royal family 6.(secret) slept at Windsor Castle because it was safer than London’s urban areas.
Today, Windsor Castle is the private home of Queen Elizabeth II. When she doesn’t meet guests at Buckingham Palace, she goes to Windsor Castle. 7. that’s not all. Windsor Castle is open to the public. It is now one of England's most popular tourist 8. (attract). Visitors can look at some of the finest artworks, 9. (include) the paintings of Rembrandt as well as the well-kept gardens. Is there a better way to learn about England 10. to enjoy some of the country’s finest scenery?
My family was very concerned for my sister and understandably so. Helen was on a flight from Los Angeles to Phoenix. Although the flight was short, it provided __________ time for her to get to know the Morrisons, an Arizona couple seated in her row. The plane was only in the air for a couple of minutes __________ the wife, Marcie, fell asleep, leaving her husband Daniel and my sister sitting next to each other in silence. Maybe it was a feeling of __________ that sparked（引发，触发）it, or maybe it was the need to __________. Whatever the case, within minutes Daniel began to tell their own story.
He told my sister how he and Marcie had __________ to Los Angeles that morning to meet with a doctor of __________ medicine about treating Marcie, only 35, for her stage 4 breast cancer. __________ the diagnosis of the doctors in Phoenix had given Marcie only a few months to live, the couple had decided to __________ other forms of treatment. Although they both felt __________ about what had been described to them that day, they were upset to learn that the alternative treatment __________ a $34,000 price tag and would not be covered by medical __________. Additionally, they’d have to pay for a place to __________ while Marcie underwent treatment.
When it came to deplane（下飞机）, Daniel __________ Marcie. Since she was unable to walk, he requested a wheelchair. It was while my sister was waiting with them for the chair that she made the __________ that they could stay with her during their trips to Los Angeles.
Helen received a call from Daniel the following week saying that he and Marcie had __________ it over and they would like to take her __________ offer. They arrived the following Wednesday and left on Sunday. And this __________ continued for several months. What __________ had brought the three of them together and then made her invite them into her home? Whatever the case, she knew that she had done exactly as she was supposed to.
I guess it would be an understatement (轻描淡写) to say that my family’s feelings of _____ changed to feelings of admiration ! We are all so _________ of our Helen!
1.A.regular B.spare C.adequate D.available
2.A.when B.after C.once D.until
3.A.boredom B.freedom C.awkwardness D.tiredness
4.A.unpack B.unload C.survive D.cooperate
5.A.moved B.removed C.driven D.flown
6.A.herbal B.internal C.preventive D.alternative
7.A.Since B.Unless C.Before D.Provided
8.A.combine B.compare C.pursue D.tolerate
9.A.sure B.good C.empty D.sorry
10.A.published B.lost C.released D.carried
11.A.insurance B.allowance C.donation D.pension
12.A.visit B.go C.stay D.enjoy
13.A.hugged B.woke C.kissed D.followed
14.A.decision B.prediction C.excuse D.compromise
15.A.passed B.got C.took D.talked
16.A.final B.acceptable C.generous D.conditional
17.A.arrangement B.belief C.bargain D.deal
18.A.relationship B.force C.cost D.subject
19.A.shame B.disappointment C.embarrassment D.concern
20.A.ashamed B.fond C.proud D.confident
The Art of Slow Reading
If you are reading this article in print, chances are that you will only get through half of what I have written. And if you are reading this online, you may not even finish a fifth. 1. They suggest that many of us no longer have the concentration to read articles through to their conclusion.
So are we getting stupider? Actually, our online habits are damaging the mental power we need to process and understand textual information. Round-the-clock news makes us read from one article to the next without necessarily engaging fully with any of the content. Our reading is frequently interrupted by the noise of the latest email and we are now absorbing short bursts of words on Twitter and Facebook more regularly than longer texts. 2. But we are gradually forgetting how to sit back, think carefully, and relate all the facts to each other.
3. A desperate bunch of academics want us to take our time while reading, and re-reading. They ask us to switch off our computers every so often and rediscover both the joy of personal engagement with printed texts, and the ability to process them fully. What's to be done then? Most slow readers realize that total rejection of the web is extremely unrealistic. They feel that getaway from technology for a while is the answer. 4. Personally, I'm not sure whether I could ever go offline for long. Even while writing this article, I am switching constantly between sites, skimming too often, absorbing too little. Internet reading has become too rooted in my daily life for me to change. I read essays and articles not in hard copy but as PDFs. I suspect that many readers are in a similar position. 5. You can download a computer application called Freedom, which allows you to read in peace by cutting off your Internet connection. Or if you want to avoid being disturbed by the Internet, you could always download offline reader Instapaper for your iPhone. If you're still reading my article, that is slow reading.
A. The Internet is probably part of the problem.
B. Now some campaigns are advocating slow reading.
C. These are the two findings from the recent research projects.
D. But if you just occasionally want to read more slowly, help is at hand.
E. Some of them have suggested turning their computers off for one day a week.
F. Slow reading can help connect a reader to neighborhood and become popular.
G. Because of the Internet, we have become very good at collecting information.
If you have ever had a cat, or have watched one of the many funny cat videos online, you’ll know that cats have a mind of their own. A lot of the things they do are hard to understand---they like to climb up tall furniture, fit themselves in small spaces and attack small objects for no reason at all.
Now scientists have managed to figure out what exactly is going on in the brains of our little friends. According to Tony Buffington, a professor at Ohio State University in the US, cats’ strange behavior largely comes from their way of life back in the wild. “Cats today still have many of the same instincts(本能)that allowed them to live in the wild for millions of years.” he said in a TED Talk. “To them, our homes are their jungles.”
In the wild, cats are hunters. Their bodies and great balancing abilities allow them to climb to high spots to better look at the environment. Even though they don’t have to hunt any more in human houses, they still keep the old habit of viewing the living room from, for example, the top of the refrigerator.
Cats’ hunting instinct is also what makes them attack small things like keys and USB drives. In the wild, they hunt whatever they can get, and most of the animals they kill are small.
However, cats can also be prey. This explains why they like to stay in small spaces like drawers or washing machines---they are hiding, or they think they are hiding, from more dangerous animals. This is also why cats prefer a clean box: a smelly one could easily show enemies where they are.
Knowing how cats’ minds work is not only useful for better understanding them. It may also help cats’ owners to better meet cats’ needs. For example, owners could try to make climbing easier for cats by moving their furniture around. They could also use “food puzzles” to make eating feel more like hunting instead of just giving food to the cats.
1.According to Tony Buffington, ________.
A.cats’ strange behavior is hard for people to understand
B.cats are more used to living in the wild than in humans’ homes
C.cats behave strangely mainly because of some instincts in the wild
D.cats’ instincts are as helpful to them today as they were millions of year ago
2.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the text?
A.Cats like to climb up high because they want to hide from dangerous animals.
B.Cats attack keys and USB drives because they have a habit of hunting small animals.
C.Cats enjoy staying in small spaces because they usually live in small caves in the wild.
D.Cats’ preference for a clean box probably has something to do with their hunting instincts.
3.The underlined word “prey” in Paragraph 5 probably means _________.
A.an animal that is too lazy
B.an animal that likes hiding games
C.an animal that keeps itself clean
D.an animal that is hunted
4.This article is mainly written to _________.
A.explore the reasons behind cats’ strange behavior
B.describe cats’ past wild experience to readers
C.tell cat owners how to make life easier for cats
D.compare cats’ behavior in human homes with that in the wild
