1. How does Rose feel about Peter’s poetry?
A.Classic. | B.Unique. | C.Romantic. |
A.On Monday. | B.On Thursday. | C.On Tuesday. |
A.Love. | B.Friendship. | C.Nature. |
A.John Keats’. | B.Emily Dickinson’s. | C.William Wordsworth’s. |
A.He enjoyed reading the novel. | B.He hasn’t started reading the novel yet. |
C.He doubts the woman will like the novel | D.He will lend the woman the novel |
3 .
With short story writer and novelist Della Galton | |
Q What’s the best way to keep track of your characters in a novel? Amanda Rose, via email A I’m not sure what the best way is, but here are some of the methods I use. Most of my records are on paper. I have a huge folder, and in it are the following:* Character sheets – one A4 sheet for each character with all their details: name; age; address; physical description; personality type… * Dialogue records – an extra page where I note their favorite words and dialogues. * Photographs – I use photos cut from magazines for inspirations as to what they look like. I’m also a big fan of spreadsheets. I create one that has the name, date of birth and age of my characters at any given time in the novel – or novels if it’s a series. This is particularly helpful for controlling timelines, as I only need to change one date and the rest are set up to update automatically. I also use a spreadsheet for keeping track of the plot so I know what happens to each character in each chapter. I create the spreadsheet before I start and fill it in as I go. It’s for tracking not plotting, but it could be used for that if you plotted what happens in each chapter. Hope this helps, Amanda. | Q Should I use single quotes or double quotes for dialogue? Tania Yeatman, Wimborne A It doesn’t matter! Usually it’s a matter of house style, so if you are aiming at a specific publication, check to see what their style is for publication and copy that. If you don’t know the house style then the important thing is to be consistent. The same applies to quotes from interviewees and experts in your articles.“I saw Anne at writing group,” Milly said. “And she came rushing up to me and told me she’d done it at last. She’s got an agent!” Sometimes there may be a quote within a quote. It can be single quotes within double quotes or the other way around. But don’t mix the two styles within the story to avoid confusion. Q ______________________________ Grace Louise |
1. ________ are most useful for controlling timelines of the story.
A.Character sheets | B.Dialogue records |
C.Photographs | D.Spreadsheets |
A.‘I saw Anne at writing group,’ Milly said. ‘And she came rushing up to me and cried, “I’ve done it at last. I’ve got an agent!”’ |
B.“I saw Anne at writing group,” Milly said. “And she came rushing up to me and cried, ‘I’ve done it at last. I’ve got an agent!” |
C.‘I saw Anne at writing group,’ Milly said. “And she came rushing up to me and cried, ‘I’ve done it at last. I’ve got an agent!’” |
D.“I saw Anne at writing group,” Milly said. ‘And she came rushing up to me and cried, ‘I’ve done it at last. I’ve got an agent!’ |
A.When and where will your next novel be published? |
B.What should I write about to win the writing competition? |
C.Do you have any tips for overcoming the writer’s block? |
D.Can you give us a lecture on choosing the right topics? |
1. 给出建议;2. 表达祝愿。
注意:1. 词数100左右;2. 开头和结尾已给出,不计入总词数。
Dear George,
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Best wishes,
Li Hua
5 . Flash fiction is a name for short stories that are kept within a specific word or character limit, usually up to 1,500 words.
●
When planning a flash fiction story you first need to decide what are the important parts of the story that the reader just cannot miss. This might be a few moments from the beginning, middle and end. Once you have these, then any extra detail can either be cutaway or added in—if it makes the story better and the word limit allows.
●Develop characters using adverbs
Good flash fiction has well-developed characters who have personalities and faults. You can takeout long descriptions of your characters and replace them with the occasional adverb to help the reader understand the characters’ movements and behaviour. Adverbs are words that describe verbs.
●Use clauses to add colour and detail
Clauses add detail to sentences without adding too many words.
●Combine your sentences
A.Practice to make it perfect |
B.Plan carefully before writing |
C.Writing flash fiction takes skill |
D.You could use a relative clause |
E.Verbs are words that describe physical or mental actions and states of being |
F.Try doing this by picking a few things and putting them into a shorter sentence |
G.They have different functions from other words used in flash fiction in English |
6 . With the winter holiday on the way and time on your hands, you might be looking for something to read. The following are four great books for you.
The Bright Side
Chad Otis is an author and illustrator. His new book, The Bright Side, is about finding hope in desperate situations. Its hero is a boy who lives with his family in an old school bus because they can’t afford to live anywhere else. This is something Otis experienced when he was a kid. He wants kids who are going through similar struggles to know, “You are not alone. Stay strong. Stay optimistic.”
Bunheads
In Bunheads, Misty Copeland tells the story of how she fell in love with dance. As a girl. Copeland was shy and afraid of talking in front of people. Dance helped her get past her fears. “Ballet gave me a language to communicate in a way that worked for me,” she told TFK. “Ballet allowed me to speak... through my body.”
Little Daymond Learns to Earn
Linle Daymond Learns to Earn teaches kids about money. It’s by Daymond John, who is one of the stars of Shark Tank. With a little creativity and the help of his friends, little Daymond starts a small business. “Every single business that you create does one thing — it finds solutions to problems in life,” he says.
Facts vs. Opinions vs. Robots
What’s the difference between a fact and an opinion? Sometimes, it can be hard to tell them apart. Facts vs. Opinions vs. Robots is a new picture book. It teaches kids about facts and opinions. The book uses robots to show the difference between the two. Michael Rex wrote and illustrated the book, in which he asks questions of the reader.
1. What is Chad Otis’s purpose in writing The Bright Side?A.To teach some life skills. | B.To share his life story. |
C.To inspire kids in difficulty. | D.To help kids to make money. |
A.They put profit first. | B.They launch new products. |
C.They make discoveries. | D.They focus on solving problems. |
A.Chad Otis. | B.Michael Rex. | C.Daymond John. | D.Misty Copeland. |
7 . Do you find yourself checking social media sites as soon as you wake up? Do you answer e-mails on your phone while surfing the Web? Actually, we've lived a life in which we're all connected, all the time. Whether or not this is a good thing is the subject of Hamlet's BlackBerry, a non-fiction book by William Powers based on an essay he penned.
Early in the work, Powers questions the way we use devices, but certainly he doesn't criticize it. He does, however, recognize the downside of constantly being overstimulated—or what he calls the “problem of connectedness”. Among the things disturbed by the problem, Powers says, are the ways in which people are connected and deal with each other. “Constantly switching among people on social media platforms, texts and all the new ways of connecting all day, we never have a sustained connection.” His intention of writing Hamlet's BlackBerry is to help teach people how to connect more wisely. Powers looked to the past, where he found several precedents(先例)for both the current information age and the anxiety that has come with it.
One major figure Powers examines actually developed his own strategies for dealing with overstimulation. In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, Hamlet is informed his father is murdered by his uncle and too shocked by the news to think calmly, so he pulls out his “tables” from the pocket, an object Powers describes as a so rt of original electronic planner. In the Elizabethan age, tables were a kind of new device designed to help people bring order to their lives despite massive news. You could write notes during the day and wipe(擦掉) them away at night.
But how do we deal with the same problem? Powers has one suggestion that's child's play: just disconnect. His family, for example, takes an “Internet Rest Day” every weekend. “We don't have smart phones. Therefore we can't check our inboxes and do Web surfing that day. We really enter another zone and it's wonderful. Even when we're connected to the Internet again, we feel benefits of having been disconnected days before,” he says. “It's just about that simple word—balance.”
1. What can be influenced by overstimulation according to Powers?A.Thoughts. | B.Health. | C.Productivity. | D.Relationships. |
A.They advocated an orderly life. | B.They could handle information overload. |
C.They regarded tables as a necessity. | D.They improved technology to make plans. |
A.It is a symbol of balance. | B.It lightens the family atmosphere. |
C.It has a lasting influence. | D.It is seemingly difficult to follow. |
A.An introduction to a book. | B.An article about the Web's impacts. |
C.A report on digitization. | D.A review of Shakespeare's Hamlet. |
8 . Books that can help teens manage anxiety
Children experience anxiety differently from adults, and it also looks different in each child. Fortunately, books can serve as tools for guiding children through the anxious thoughts and feelings they may experience. The following are four books that can help children effectively manage their anxiety.
The Healthy Coping Coloring Book and Journal by Pooky Knightsmith
This coloring book is specifically designed for children aged 8 to 14 and activities range from coloring to journaling and drawing, all of which are developed to help children deal with troubling situations. The different activities can be beneficial for self-expression.
Please Explain Anxiety to Me! by Laurie E. Zelinger and Jordan Zelinger
Written by psychologists, this story breaks down both the physical and emotional symptoms of anxiety. The story compares the natural anxiety kids feel to dinosaurs fearing being threatened in the wild. It explains that some anxiety (for example, a dinosaur’s anxiety about being eaten) can be our body’s way of protecting us from threats.
Sea Otter Cove by Lori Lite
This is a book that teaches children how to use proper breathing techniques to calm down, lower stress, and control anger. Through playful sea otters and other delightful characters in the book, children get to experience belly breathing. This effective, self-calming technique is also known as diaphragmatic breathing or deep breathing.
The Worry Glasses by Donalisa Helsley
This book is about a little girl named MJ. It tells the story of how she learns to defeat her worries. All through the story, her wonderful counselor Miss Jessica patiently helps her. The book includes a list of exercises designed to relieve kids’ anxiety. It also offers tips to parents and adults who live with anxious children.
1. What’s the common ground of the activities in Pooky Knightsmith’s book?A.Encouraging children to express anxiety. |
B.Helping children increase intelligence. |
C.Measuring children’s mental health. |
D.Inspiring children’s artistic talent. |
A.Journal writing. | B.Controling anger. |
C.Belly breathing. | D.Holding breath. |
A.The Healthy Coping Coloring Book and Journal |
B.Please Explain Anxiety to Me! |
C.Sea Otter Cove |
D.The Worry Glasses |
9 . “Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World” by Cal Newport is an exploration of the challenges posed by our modern, digitally-driven environment and the strategies one can employ to achieve focused success. Newport researches the concept of deep work, emphasizing its critical role in an era marked by constant distractions.
The book addresses the common issue of information overload and the impact of shallow tasks on productivity. Newport argues that the ability to engage in deep, concentrated work is essential for success. The author supports his claims with research, including experiments comparing brain connectivity patterns during deep work and shallow tasks.
Newport’s work agrees with earlier studies, confirming that handwritten notes outperform (胜过) typed ones in academic performance. Beyond academia, Newport presents evidence of the cognitive (认知的) benefits of deep work.
The book provides practical strategies for integrating deep work into one’s professional life, advocating for routines and intentional changing of the brain to resist distractions. Newport introduces concepts like productive meditation (冥想) and the craftsman approach to tool selection, offering readers actionable advice to enhance their focus and productivity.
“Deep Work” has won widespread praise for its insights into productivity in a distracted world. Many praise Newport’s thorough research, combining neuroscience with practical advice. Readers appreciate the real-world examples, from Carl Jung’s focused mindset to a social media pioneer’s distraction-free writing journey.
In conclusion, “Deep Work” stands as a valuable guide for navigating the challenges of the digital age. Newport’s exploration of deep work as a catalyst (催化剂) for success, supported by research and concrete strategies, has left a lasting impact on how individuals approach their professional and personal lives. It serves as a timely reminder to prioritize focus and concentration in an era defined by constant connectivity and distractions.
1. What kind of writing is this passage?A.A book review. | B.An advertisement. |
C.A science report. | D.A psychological research. |
A.By sharing personal experiences. |
B.By providing practical strategies. |
C.By doing experiments on brain connectivity. |
D.By integrating deep work into one’s professional life |
A.Selective tools. | B.Inflexible mind. |
C.Changeable routines. | D.Productive meditation. |
A.Achieving success through focus. |
B.The necessity of handwritten notes. |
C.The drawbacks of constant connectivity. |
D.An analysis of modern workforce challenges. |
10 . Critics’ choice: The year’s best novels…
1. The Love Songs of W. E. B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers (Harper, $29)
The novel from a celebrated poet, this 800-page work is many things at once: a moving coming-of-age story, an examination of race, and an exploration of American history. Out of curiosity about the secrets in her family, Ailey uncovers stories that trace back to her Native American, Scottish, and enslaved African-American ancestors.
2. Matrix by Lauren Groff (Knopf, $28)
If Matrix were written by anyone else, it would be a hard sell. But Lauren Groff has reimagined the life of 12th-century poet Marie de France so that we can’t help but stay with this royal castoff as she’s sent away, at 17, to run a poor church, which she eventually changes into a shelter for women and a challenge to the male-dominated world.
3. Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro (Knopf, $28)
A robot that has been programmed to be a sickly teenager’s “Artificial Friend,” Klara serves as our eyes on a troubling near future in which technological progress is pushing moral boundaries. But her outsider view allows the author of Remains of the Day, now a Nobel Prize winner, to explore what makes people irreplaceable.
4. Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr (Scribner, $30)
Doerr’s first novel since 2014 covers several hundred years — from 1453 Constantinople to a 22nd-century spaceship escaping from Earth. The book runs 640 pages, but without a wasted word. As engaging as a great bedtime story and as readable as Harry Potter, it’s above all a celebration of the human spirit and its power to dream impossible dreams.
1. Which book is written by a poet?A.The Love Songs of W. E. B. Du Bois. | B.Matrix. |
C.Klara and the Sun. | D.Cloud Cuckoo Land. |
A.Historical events. | B.Pursuit of dreams. |
C.Human irreplaceability. | D.Teenagers’ friendship. |
A.They all cover hundreds of years. | B.They are all chosen by critics. |
C.They are all the author’s first novel. | D.The main characters are all humans. |