As the sixth What Kids Are Reading report bemoans （ 哀 叹 ） about a tendency among secondary school students to read books that are too easy—suggesting that teachers and librarians aren’t pushing challenging titles strongly enough to older kids—the organizers of World Book Day have announced a list that might serve as a corrective, or at least a useful source of ideas.
Satellite by Nick Lake
Leo was born in space, living all his life on space station Moon 2 with fellow space-children Libra and Orion. Now, at 15,he is almost due to go to Earth for the first time, but more awaits him there. An extraordinary science fiction, as diverse as lain M Banks at his best. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
A standout debut （首次创作）, this US novel is the Black Lives Matter (BLM)-inspired story of Starr Carter, whose friend Khalil is shot dead by a police officer as she watches and whose divided life awakes in the fallout. Full of vivid detail and dry humour, with a charming narrator, it reads like a typical text.
Things a Bright Girl Can Do by Sally Nicholls
Nicholls’ exciting narrative follows May, the free-thinking daughter of a Quaker, and Nell, the tough, capable mainstay of her poor family. As the ghost of war appears ever closer, what will they sacrifice and what will be taken from them? An unforgettable historical novel.
The Book of Dust Vol 1:La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman
Pullman’s long-awaited return to the world of His Dark Materials is, at times, dark indeed. As Malcolm and Alice convey the baby Lyra down a flooded river in Malcolm’s boat, the coming threats are fierce and frightening. To the reader absorbed in it, whatever their age, it affords the enjoyment of watching a master storyteller at work.
1.Why do the organizers announce the book list?
A.To attract students’ attention to World Book Day.
B.To promote the sales of the books recommended.
C.To encourage secondary students to read challenging books.
D.To meet the requirements of teachers and librarians.
2.Which book might attract a history lover?
A.Satellite. B.The Hate U Give.
C.Things a Bright Girl Can Do. D.The Book of Dust Vo1 1:La Belle Sauvage.
3.What can be learned from the text?
A.Nick Lake is an expert in space exploration.
B.Angie Thomas stands out in writing textbooks.
C.May has an influence on Sally Nicholls’ writing.
D.It took a long time for Pullman to publish his new book.
近几年，很多外国人热衷学习中国文化。如学汉语、过中国节日等。自从2014年以来，有200多所孔子学院（Confucius Institute）相继在美国、英国、加拿大、韩国等国家建成使用。
1. 请简要报道上述现象；
2. 分析上述现象的原因；
3. 结合自身实际，谈谈你能为传播中国文化做些什么。
注意：1. 作文中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称；
2. 120词左右。
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单词拼写
1.The twins are so much alike that even their parents have trouble d_________ them.
2.— When electricity was cut off, all the people in the elevator(电梯）p_______.
— It’s unnecessary, for the operator will surely come to help.
3.He was awarded a gold watch in r_____ of his service to his company.
4.The little girl was fortunate because she had a n______ escape from being run over by a car.
5.Hearing the dog barking fiercely, the thief f____ away.
6.G_______(抓紧) firmly her mother’s hand in the darkness, Lucy felt much better.
7.The bell indicating the end of the period rang, which _______(打断) our heated discussion.
8.You can come and have a chat with me whenever you feel it is ________(方便) to you.
9.______(有希望地) we’ll have finished the project by the end of this month.
10.—What do you think of cloning? Is it harmful to human beings?
—Well, e________ in a proper way, this technology can contribute to the development of mankind.
Happiness begins from appreciation
If you are feeling that life just cannot be any worse for you, it can be challenging to think positive. When stressed, depressed, upset or otherwise in a negative state of mind because you are aware that misfortune keeps occurring, it is important to shift those negative thoughts to something positive. 1.
It is often very hard to think positive when so many things are negative, but be sure that someone, somewhere is worse off than you. 2. If you start with one small, positive thing and appreciate it during the course of your day, you will begin to move into a more positive situation and people will start showing up in your life. With appreciation, you will find that over time, you will change your outlook and choose to be happy, regardless of the events around you. 3.
● Begin and end each day with a “Thank you for this wonderful, glorious day!”
● When you see the rise of gas prices, say “I am so glad to have a vehicle in which to get around.”
● When your boss is too hard on you, say “I am grateful for my job as I know that many don’t have one.”
● If you are having health problems, be grateful for what does work: “I really do appreciate it that my eyes see, my ears hear, my mouth tastes, my legs walk, my arms lift and my mind thinks and everything else works.”
● Write down what you’re grateful for each day. In moments when you’re feeling really down, read loud what you wrote previously. 4. If you practice this regularly, you will find your list getting longer and longer.
The key is to move yourself into a positive thought and keep it there long enough to make it a moment of appreciation. 5.
A. This will certainly help uplift your spirits.
B. If not, you will only attract more misfortune.
C. It is of great importance to learn to be grateful.
D. The more you appreciate, the happier you’ll be.
E. If you have made some achievements in your career.
F. Here are a few common examples for you to practice.
G. You can choose to think differently by beginning with the smallest of steps.
Myth was born in childhood of human being. It is a product of ancient imagination, which can conquer nature, dominate nature and make the power of nature have its own image. It is a cultural phenomenon in civilized society.
China and Greece are birthplaces of Orient and Western civilizations. Prime Minister Constantine Caramanlis of Greece once pointed out: '' The civilization of China brought light to the Far East and the whole of Asia, as Greece thought, the cornerstone of European civilization, brought light to the West. '' However, for some reasons, there are many differences between Chinese and Greek myth, which show their own unique national spirits and moral principles.
The ancestors of Chinese nation lived on land before one million and seven hundred thousand years. After long uncivilized times, ancient Chinese gradually created civilization. In prehistory, ancient Chinese lived and struggled. Most ancestors’ achievements of tribes have been passed down orally. This is old myth. According to some archaeological materials, single myth, which has the meaning of totem(图腾), had appeared in the Late Palaeolithic Age. As the mental belief, totem is the holiest and the most beautiful symbol in ancient tribes’ mind. It is their aesthetic conception(审美观). On the contrary, the history of Greece is shorter, and Greek myth produced later than Chinese myth. It produced in about eleventh century BC, and it was far from the age of totem worship. That was the Age of Heroes. Human wisdom had been more and more important and totem worship had tended to disappear. So ancient Greeks thought that human being was the most beautiful in the world. They gave their deities(神灵) the most beautiful images. Those are images of human beings.
China lies in an isolated pocket in East Asia, surrounded by impassable mountains, deserts, seas and valleys. This environment develops a continental culture where people are only looking inward, a farming culture centers on soil, discouraging any adventurous seefaring people. In addition, Chinese myth produced in the Yellow River and the Yangtze River Valley. In both zones, the volume of rain is abundant all the year round. Because the soil is fertile and the resources are rich, both areas are suitable for agriculture. It became the typical continental agriculture. They would not like to take their own lives to struggle with terrifying waves, but would rather work hard in gentle land. Just the ancient Chinese who lived in this continent created this unique myth, ancient Chinese myth.
Contrary to China, Greece is a poor country, barren and dry. Unlike the rich river valleys Yellow River and Yangtze River, its rivers are too small to be navigable, and they dry up in the heat of the mostly rainless summers. The Greek landscape is dominated by high mountains, which occupy about three quarters of the land. As rich land was limited in Greece, to survive, ancient Greeks had to look outward. Sea is the greatest Greek natural resource. It plays a central role in the life of Greeks. The Chinese seas don’t look navigable, but the Greek seas look like swimming pools. The Chinese sailor, if he happens to be, sails for days without any land in sight. In fact, he can easily get drowned before he has a chance to get anywhere. The Greek sailor, who is always fortunate, can spot islands in all directions on clear days. With these steppingstones, he can reach any part of the Mediterranean to trade, to stay, to conquer and to colonize. They like to learn advanced technique and cultures from other countries. This provided living space for independence of Greek myth. Frankly speaking, marine civilization created the great Greek myth.
1.What is the passage mainly about?
A.The differences between Chinese and Greek myth.
B.The definition of myths and why they came into existence.
C.The reasons for the differences between Chinese and Greek myth.
D.The factors resulting in Chinese myth being more advanced than Greek myth.
2.What can we know about the author according to what he writes in this passage?
A.He has a strong affection for his country’s civilizations.
B.He holds a positive attitude towards the study of myth.
C.He agrees with Constantine in terms of Greek myth.
D.He presents his main point of view in an objective tone.
3.What can we infer from the 3rd paragraph?
A.Chinese myth came into being 1.7 million years earlier than Greek myth.
B.The appearance of totem marked the birth of Chinese civilization.
C.Deities in Greek myth are wiser and more beautiful than Chinese ones.
D.The time when the myth produced has great influence on its images.
4.The author writes the 4th and 5th paragraphs mainly to _______.
A.display the geographical differences between China and Greece
B.compare the agriculture civilization and the marine civilization
C.show how environment causes the differences of the two myths
D.reveal why Chinese are more conservative than western people
5.What does the underlined word ''marine'' in the last sentence probably mean?
A.of advanced level B.of or relating to the sea
C.independent of anything D.willing to make adventures
6.The differences mainly talked about in the passage between Chinese and Greek myths are ______.
a. aesthetic conception
b.surviving skills
c.independent spirits
d.adventurous spirits
e.forming process
A.ace B.bcd
C.ade D.abd
It is that time of the year again. Up and down the country, thousands of students stay in the library, attempting to cram(死记硬背)the information necessary to get through finals. I am one of them — a Cambridge finalist, attempting to deal with the Oxbridge stress in the only way I know: caffeine hits and reclusion(遁生活) Whether you love or hate Oxbridge, the fact that these two universities provide unique learning environments is something of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, students have access to some of the best education in the world; on the other hand, the pressure that comes with this can prove damaging to them and can't be swept under the carpet for they have to face it eventually.
Many Cambridge students find themselves trapped in a pressure of expectation, whether this comes from their supervisors or tutors, their director of studies or even from themselves. The drive towards achievement is either the key to success or to possible serious personal issues, as Mark Phippen, head of the University of Cambridge's Counseling Service said, ''There are plenty of perfectionists in Cambridge, but it can work two ways: it can push them to accomplish and to achieve, or it can get out of hand, disabling them. ''
Many students say that they can’t handle it any more while working in certain libraries which are filled with other students hard at work. The competition and paranoia(疑)are more common than what we realize or question: you can feel as if you are being judged for how much time you spend on Facebook or YouTube, or how little time you spend reading.
Too many students feel almost frustrated by the pressure to achieve but feel unable to speak about it. As everyone seems to be coping, they must also pretend to cope too. The only thing students have: tutors and supervisors regularly encourage students to avoid extracurricular activities, urging them to focus on their studies to such an extent that many find it hard to handle it. One current Cambridge tutor has been known for checking up on the activities of students involved in extracurricular theatre by searching for them on the camdram.net website, which details who is involved in certain plays each term — just in case it affects the student’s work output.
Problems arise when the pressure produces mental health issues. Problems have been brought to attention in articles primarily from Oxford's Cherwell and Cambridge's The Tab. The attention has made the Cambridge University Student Union set up Students Deserve Better — a campaign to handle complaints about supervisors and tutors lacking the ability to provide proper spiritual support. ''When I told my supervisor about my problems with anxiety and therefore about my worries surrounding the workload she was suggesting, she said that I would probably feel less anxious once the work was done, '' a finalist student called Jane said. ''It shouldn't be an accepted response in one of the world's best universities. Their responses only worsened any feelings I had concerning my final year. ''
Phippen said, ''At this point the exams seem like the most important thing in the world. However, two years down the line you’ll realize that the exams you did at university aren't very important at all, as what then becomes more important is what you have done within those two years afterwards. Finalist exams can become depressing for students studying at any university. All you must remember is that you are not alone and you are good enough, and that a few years down the line, your ability to recount the plots of Euripides' nineteen plays will no longer matter. So why worry? ''
1.The underlined part ''be swept under the carpet'' in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ''______''.
A.be covered up B.be dealt with
C.be given up D.be figured out
2.What's Mark Phippen's attitude towards the pressure put on the students at Oxbridge?
A.Critical. B.Doubtful.
C.Objective. D.Ambiguous.
3.What can we know from Paragraph 4?
A.Extracurricular activities fail to appeal to most students.
B.Some tutors and supervisors push their students too hard.
C.There is a lack of communication between students and their supervisors.
D.Some students don't speak about the pressure because they think they can handle it.
4.What Jane said in Paragraph 5 suggests that she ______ .
A.didn't get her problems across to her supervisor
B.had expected better spiritual guidance from her tutors
C.was dissatisfied with her supervisor's delayed responses
D.was glad that Students Deserve Better was set up to help students like her
5.Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
A.Oxbridge pressure: the key to students' achievements
B.Oxbridge finals: the toughest exams in the country
C.Oxbridge graduates: the strongest competitors in the job market
D.Oxbridge success: the result of teacher-student interaction
