I had a teacher who used to wake up in class by shouting: “The early bird gets the worm!” I say “let him have the worm”. I hate food that doesn’t stay still, and avoid Japanese restaurants for that very reason. Anyway, I stopped eating worms at the age of three, switching to regular breakfasts of cereal(谷物), to which I would add extra sugar.
Recently I was thinking about early birds and the competitive spirit after receiving a letter from a reader in Malaysia: ”My son deliberately throws away marks because he doesn’t like to be top of the class. What shall I do?” Give him a round of “applause” for being smart! Actually many children in Asia tend to be the focus by performing better.
Placed into a very competitive class when I was 11, I quickly learned the ideal position was second to last. The top three performers and the very last person are highlighted; the second-to-last contestant is INVISIBLE. And it’s an easy position to get—just deliberately underperform at every test. I could do that. I once came second to last in eight straight sports day races. No one suspected anything. I was so invisible that I could have robbed a bank in my street and no one would have noticed.
At the London Olympics a few months ago, badminton pairs from three Asian countries deliberately tried to lost matches to draw good lots in later rounds. It was funny to watch, but they were all thrown out for poor sportsmanship. What they really needed were acting lessons, their moves were so unconvincing. “Oops, I hit the ball in entirely the wrong direction.”
The other day, I took the children out and they raced for the car. “I’m first,” said one. The second said: “First is worst, second is best.” Together they sang at the last one: “And third’s the one with a hairy chest.”
It struck me that the organizers of sports matches could use this song when people deliberately lost matches. “I lost,” the delighted loser will say. The judges could still declare them winners, pointing to a new, optional regulation: “First is worst, second is best, third’s the one with a hairy chest.”
1.Why did the author dislike Japanese restaurant?
A.Its food was served raw. B.Its food contained worms.
C.He was tempted by cereal. D.He was affected by the saying.
2.How did the author manage to be invisible in a competitive class?
A.He highlighted the top three students.
B.He came to second in sports races.
C.He hid himself in a bank skillfully.
D.He intentionally underperformed.
3.What can be learned from the passage?
A.The judge is encouraged to eliminate the dishonest players.
B.Players disqualified from Olympic doubles for using drugs.
C.Children’s song praises the dramatic acting skills of athletes.
D.players purposefully failed for easier lots in the following rounds.
4.Which saying might the author possibly support?
A.Great minds think alike. B.God favors those who are prepared.
C.Honesty is the best policy. D.A bird in hand is worth two in the bush
When discussing the causes of animal endangerment, it is important to understand that individual species are not the only factors involved in this difficult situation. Endangerment is a broad _________, one that involves the habitats and environments where species live and interact with one another. Although some measures are being taken to help specific cases of endangerment, the universal problem cannot be solved until humans _________ the natural environments where endangered species live. There are many reasons why a particular species may become endangered, but habitat destruction is on top.
Our planet is continually changing, causing habitats to be altered and modified. Natural changes tend to occur at a(n) _________ pace, usually causing only a slight _________ on individual species. However, when changes occur at a fast pace, there is little or no time for individual species to _________ and adjust to new situations. This can create disastrous results, and for this reason, rapid habitat loss is the primary cause of species endangerment. The strongest _________ in rapid habitat loss are human beings. Nearly every region of the earth has been affected by human activity, particularly during this past century. The loss of microbes in soils that _________ supported tropical forests, the extinction of fish and various aquatic species in polluted habitats, and changes in global climate brought about by the _________ of greenhouse gases are all results of human activity.
It can be difficult for an individual to _________ the effects that humans have had on specific species. It is also hard to identify or ____________ human effects on individual species and habitats, especially during a human lifetime. But it is quite ____________ that human activity has greatly contributed to species endangerment. ____________, although tropical forests may look as though they are thick and healthy; they are____________ highly susceptible (易受影响的) to destruction. This is because the soils in which they grow ____________ nutrients. It may take centuries to re-grow a forest that was cut down by humans or destroyed by fire, and many of the world’s severely threatened animals and plants live in these forests. If the current rate of forest ____________ continues, huge quantities of plant and animal species will disappear.
1.A.remark B.issue C.project D.experiment
2.A.worsen B.protect C.seek D.ignore
3.A.extreme B.favorable C.gradual D.rapid
4.A.command B.spirit C.impact D.expectation
5.A.react B.boost C.express D.announce
6.A.sports B.meanings C.forces D.crimes
7.A.usually B.formally C.freely D.formerly
8.A.escape B.goal C.release D.origin
9.A.update B.recognize C.cover D.remind
10.A.predict B.devote C.struggle D.transfer
11.A.obvious B.vital C.contemporary D.selfish
12.A.In short B.In a word C.As a result D.For example
13.A.naturally B.completely C.fully D.actually
14.A.contain B.lack C.reduce D.limit
15.A.growth B.loss C.extension D.planting
Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.
This was no ordinary dog. Dyngo, a ten-year-old Belgian Malinois, 1. (train) to move his 87-pound body toward people, locking his jaws around them. He 2. (serve) three tours in Afghanistan and had saved thousands of lives. I had traveled across the country to retrieve Dyngo 3. he could live out his remaining years with me in civilian retirement.
That first Arizona night, Dyngo sat on my hotel bed 4. (wait) for me. 5. I drifted off to sleep, I felt his body twitch, and I smiled: Dyngo is a dog who dreams. The next morning, I gave him a toy and went to shower. When I emerged from the bathroom, it was like stepping into a henhouse 6. feathers floated in the air In the middle of the bed was Dyngo, panting over a pile of shredded pillows. On the flight home, 7. (sit) at my feet in the roomy first row, Dyngo soon had bouts of vomiting in between his attempts to shred the Harry Potter blanket I’d brought. The pilot announced 8. military status, inspiring applause from the whole cabin.
I met Dyngo in 2012 at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio and had heard about how Dyngo had saved many lives in Afghanistan. In early 2011, Kitts and Dyngo boarded a helicopter on their way 9. a remote outpost in Afghanistan. Dyngo wore a wide choke chain and a vest that said MWD Police K-9 to indicate 10. he was a military-working dog.
Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.
England became England, the land of English-speaking people, at the beginning of the Middle Ages. 1. that it had been the home of Iron Age Tribes known as Celts, and for a time, part of the Roman Empire. Then beginning in the 400s AD, tribes from the north, known as the angles, the Saxons, and the Jutes, 2. (move) in.
The most famous leader of this time period in England was Alfred the Great. Alfred lived in Wessex, the kingdom of the West Saxons, which 3. (locate) in the southern part of England. He was a good leader 4. made his kingdom stronger. He created a system of defenses (防御), 5. (call) burhs, across the country. He reorganized the army so that his men 6. have time to fight and time to farm. Alfred s efforts protected his people from the Vikings and allowed Wessex to grow. Eventually the rulers of Wessex would rule all of England.
Alfred also made other improvements. He made laws for his people. He encouraged learning and translated several important books 7. his Saxon language. This was 8. modern people think of as the start of the language we call English today.
Two important pieces of literature from that time period are the anglo-Saxon Chronicle and Beowulf, both 9. (write) in old English. Old English lasted through most of the Middle Ages. Middle English came in during the late Middle ages and modern english began about the time of the renaissance.
England and English got their names, not from the Saxons, but from one of the other tribes, and Angles. The original name of England must have been 10. like Angle-land (only in old English of course).
假定你是李华，最近你在当地报纸上看到一则游泳培训班的广告，称其有称职教练，一周包会。考虑到大学要开设游泳课，而你还不会，所以想在暑假参加训练。请你写一封咨询信了解相关情况，要点如下：
1. 训练的具体时间和地点；
2. 课程大概内容和费用；
3. 其他注意事项。
相关词汇：教练instructor
注意：1. 开头和结尾已为你写好，不计入总词数；
2. 词数100左右；
3. 可适当增加细节，使行文连贯。
Dear Sir or Madam,
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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：在错的词下划一横线，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。
Yesterday I watched a circus show. A girl rode an one-wheeled bike on a small table with a lot of flower on it. She didn’t knock down even one flower. Some little dogs also did a better job. One of them could calculate the number!
The most exciting program was to see a young man walk the tightrope. He stood on a rope with a balanced pole in his hands. Two girls stood on his head, which made himself have no alternative but keep holding up. Therefore, another two girls sat on the red belt tying to either end of a steel bar on his shoulder. The young man took his first step of great care. Every viewer held out his breath. At last he succeed in walking across the 8-meter-long tightrope.
