Fifteen years ago, I took a summer vacation in Lecce in southern Italy. After climbing up a hill for a panoramic(全景的) of the blue sea, white buildings and green olive trees, I paused to catch my breath and then positioned myself to take the best photo of this panorama.
Unfortunately, just as I took out my camera, a woman approached from behind, and planted herself right in front of my view. Like me, this woman was here to stop, sigh and appreciate the view.
Patient as I was, after about 15 minutes, my camera scanning the sun and reviewing the shot I would eventually take, I grew frustrated. Was it too much to ask her to move so I could take just one picture of the landscape? Sure, I could have asked her, but something prevented me from doing so. She seemed so content in her observation. I didn’t want to mess with that.
Another 15 minutes passed and I grew bored. The woman was still there. I decided to take the photo anyway. And now when I look at it, I think her presence in the photo is what makes the image interesting. The landscape, beautiful on its own, somehow comes to life and breathes because this woman is engaging with it.
This photo, with the unique beauty that unfolded before me and that woman who “ruined” it, now hangs on a wall in my bedroom. What would she think if she knew that her figure is captured and frozen on some stranger’s bedroom wall? A bedroom, after all, is a very private space, in which some woman I don’t even know has been immortalized. In some ways, she lives in my house.
Perhaps we all live in each other’s spaces. Perhaps this is what photos are for: to remind us that we all appreciate beauty, that we all share a common desire for pleasure, for connection, for something that is greater than us.
That photo is a reminder, a captured moment, an unspoken conversation between two women, separated only by a thin square of glass.
1.What happened when the author was about to take a photo?
A.Her camera stopped working. B.A woman blocked her view.
C.Someone asked her to leave. D.A friend approached from behind.
2.In the author’s opinion, what makes the photo so alive?
A.The rich color of the landscape. B.The perfect positioning of the camera.
C.The woman’s existence in the photo. D.The soft sunlight that summer day.
3.The passage can be seen as the author’s reflections upon ________.
A.a particular life experience B.the pleasure of traveling
C.the art of photography D.a lost friendship
环保节约是我们每个地球人的责任。假设你是李华，最近正在和你的美国朋友Jack讨论如何进行“低碳生活”。请你就“低碳生活之我见”给Jack写一封回信，内容包括：1. “低碳生活”的重要性； 2. 如何做到“低碳生活”；3. 邀请对方参加“全球低碳行动”。
注意：1、词数100左右；
2、开头和结尾已经给出，不计入总词数；
3、可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
提示词：低碳生活：low-carbon life
Dear Jack,
How is everything going?
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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。
I’m terrible sorry to make you disappointing for not having finished my homework on time. In fact, I had something else to do, that made me have no time for my homework.
My father was badly injured in a accident yesterday. Hearing the news, I hurried the hospital after school. I had a busy night, but I didn't do my homework. As what you know, I am an ordinary student in class and eager to improve your English. I find I have great difficulty concentrate on my study. Would you please give me some suggestions? Besides, I wish you could give me more chances to practise my English in class.
I’m looking forward to hear from you early.
阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
A group of students 1.(range)from 9 to 13 are benefiting from a schedule which is run by the Confucius institute(孔子学院) at Newcastle University, which aims to build 2.(close) academic, cultural and social ties between China and the North East of England.
Staff at the institute work patiently with schools and the other day the pupils took part in weekly after-school sessions with the teacher Qiang Xingdi who gave them an 3.(introduce) to the Chinese language and culture.
Already the pupils, making progress in learning Chinese now,4.(award) certificates of achievement from the institute. Adam said, “I have always had an interest in Chinese culture and this course has been5. great way to teach me all about it.”
Confucius Institutes are worldwide non-profit public institutions6.(design)by the Chinese government to promote7.language and culture8. teaching plans and cultural exchanges.
The Confucius Institute at this university was set up in 2013, and it is the first in the North East.
Student Voice said last week, “Many thanks to the Confucius Institute at this university for 9.they have arranged for the students and Qiang Xingdi for her weekly enthusiasm,10.has without doubt made a significant impression on them.”
His palms were sweating. The sun was as hot as the_____he faced today at the National Junior Olympics. The pole was______at 17 feet, three inches higher than his personal best. Michael Stone faced the most______day of his pole- vaulting(撑杆跳) career.
In his childhood, he used to have dreams about flying,______he would be running down a country road, racing between golden wheat fields. At one point, he would take a______and then lift ______the ground, soaring like an eagle. This______about flying was put to______training by Michael's father and coach ,who_____hard work and sweat. If you want something, work for it.
All of Michael’s vaults today seemed to be the reward for his hard work. a______would get him second place, but Michael would not allow himself the______of not winning.
He knew it was time for his_____ jump. Having_____off the tension from his legs, he began to stretch out his arms and upper body. He carefully picked up his pole, his heart beating ____.The running track______him felt like the country road he used to dream about. Visions of the golden wheat fields______his thoughts. The air around him was the purest and freshest he had ever______. Michael was soaring like an eagle in his dreams
Lying on his back with that wonderful hot sun on his face. he______he could see in his mind's eye the______on his mother's face. He knew his dad was probably smiling too,_____laughing. With all the media attention, Michael’s life would never be the same. It wasn’t just because he set a new world record. It was simply because Michael Stone is blind.
1.A. examination B. competition C. struggle D. debate
2.A. set B. broken C. kept D. designed
3.A. energetic B. attractive C. difficult D. interesting
4.A. what B. how C. which D. where
5.A. breath B. rest C. walk D. look
6.A. against B. to C. on D. off
7.A. hope B. imagination C. dream D. wish
8.A. strict B. occassional C. basic D. mental
9.A. took over B. believed in C. called off D. turned on
10.A. run B. miss C. step D. push
11.A. thought B. goal C. mind D. opinion
12.A. another B. first C. next D. final
13.A. put B. given C. shaken D. cut
14.A. regularly B. wildly C. suddenly D. normal
15.A. above B. beside C. below D. within
16.A. shaped B. confused C. filled D. attracted
17.A. seen B. tasted C. noticed D. sensed
18.A. said B. knew C. predicted D. understood
19.A. tears B. sweat C. sadness D. smile
20.A. even B. or C. still D. yet
As long as there have been exams, students have found ways to cheat. Today the correct answers are just a few taps away on a smart phone. So countries have come up with new ways to stop the funny business. Some use metal detectors, surveillance (监控) cameras, and mobile phone jammers (干扰器).1.
Cheating in high school leaving exams got so bad in Mauritania and Algeria that this year the authorities turned off the Internet for the entire country. Algeria did so for at least an hour during tests (which last about a week).2.Other countries, such as Iraq, Uzbekistan and Ethiopia, have for years been shutting down the Internet during exam time.
In each country students are under high pressure to do well in the tests, which often determine whether they can continue their education at a good university.3.But high marks are rare. In Algeria only around half of students passed the exams in recent years. In Mauritania the rate is much lower.
4.Darrell West of the Brookings Institution, a think-tank, estimates that in 2015-2016 Internet shutdowns ordered by governments cost countries at least $2.4bn. 5.
A.Turning off the Internet is expensive.
B.Teachers try to help — in their own way.
C.Others have taken a more severe measure.
D.A splendid grade may mean a scholarship abroad.
E.Mauritania cut access from morning until evening on exam days.
F.For that kind of money, countries could even improve their schools.
G.With so many students cheating electronically, governments are taking extreme steps.
