1 . Teaching Poetry
No poem should ever be discussed or “analyzed”, until it has been read aloud by someone, teachers or students. Better still, perhaps, is the practice of reading it twice, once at the beginning of the discussion and once at the end, so the sound of the poem is the last thing one hears of it.
All discussions of poetry are, in fact, preparations for reading it aloud, and the reading of the poem is, finally, the most telling “interpretation” of it, suggesting tone rhythm, and meaning all at once. Hearing a poet read the work in his or her own voice, on records or on film, is obviously a special reward. But even those aids to teaching can not replace the student and teacher reading it or, best of all, reciting it.
I have come to think, in fact, that time spent reading a poem aloud is much more important than “analyzing” it, if there isn’t time for both. I think one of our goals as teachers of English is to have students love poetry. Poetry is “a criticism of life”, and “a heightening（提升）of life”. It is “an approach to the truth of feeling”, and it “can save your life”. It also deserves a place in the teaching of language and literature more central than it presently occupies.
I am not saying that every English teacher must teach poetry. Those who don’t like it should not be forced to put that dislike on anyone else. But those who do teach poetry must keep in mind a few things about its essential (基本的) nature, about its sound as well as its sense, and they must make room in the classroom for hearing poetry as well as thinking about it.
1. To have a better understanding of a poem, one should______.| A．discuss it with others | B．analyze it by oneself |
| C．copy it down in a notebook | D．practise reading it aloud |
| A．Extending your life. | B．Saving your life. |
| C．Criticizing life. | D．Heightening life. |
| A．to understand life | B．to enjoy poetry | C．to become teachers | D．to become poets |
| A．More stress should be laid on the teaching of poetry. |
| B．Poetry is more important than any other subject. |
| C．One cannot enjoy life fully without an understanding of poetry. |
| D．Poetry is the foundation of all language and literature courses. |
| A．“build a booth” | B．“provide equipment” |
| C．“leave a certain amount of time” | D．“set aside enough space” |
2 . When Amanda Gorman gifted us with her inaugural poem, "The Hill We Climb," I was sitting on our basement couch, sandwiched between my 2-year-old and my 5-year-old. I think kids benefit when parents and caregivers help them experience the world through poetry.
"The poet's role is to tell the truth. She told the truth," says Bridgette Bianca, a poet from South Central Los Angeles and an assistant professor at Santa Monica College who cites poetry's way of expressing complex ideas, often in a short, simple format, as a benefit for kids.
Expressive arts, including poetry, are important for a child's social-emotional development, according to clinical psychologist Dianne Jandrasits. Adults can create a secure attachment with kids by actively reading with them, especially between the ages of 0 and 5, and the sound of poetry can make the process fun.
Poetry, Jandrasits says, can help a child learn to take a perspective and to understand someone else's feelings. For a young child, she says, "it all starts with someone understanding your feelings. And that's where parents and caregivers come in."
Okay, but what is poetry? Ask five poets and you'll likely get five definitions. Dave Lucas, a lecturer at Case Western Reserve University and the former poet laureate of Ohio, says: "Poetry is that place where language is pleasure and not just communication. It's not just a hammer; it's a hammer that we also love to look at and we love to use."It's pretty simple. Poetry is music. It's about playing with language and sound. And kids love to play.
The problem, though, is that as kids get older, they lose that interest in playing with words. "I think we teach it out of them for the most part," Lucas says. Author and poet Kate Baer agrees. "What I think happens is that kids get to school and have some negative experience with poetry. Either because it's inaccessible or boring, or it's labeled in a way that has negative connotations. Like it's weird, or too artsy. "Kids want to laugh," adds Baer, who is also a mom of four. "That's a lot of what they want out of literature, especially at a young age.
"You don't need to be intimidated by the form of poetry," says writer Pamela K. Santos. "The thing I love about younger minds, is that their imagination is so elastic. The form is just a way to give a container to it." Santos, who is also a mother, recommends showing kids many different types of poetry, especially those that don't rhyme, and asking them what they notice. How many lines does the poem have? Does it repeat a word? Is the ending surprising?
1. What can kids benefit from reading poetry?| A．telling the truth | B．identifying with others’ feeling |
| C．bonding with kids actively | D．making the reading process fun |
| A．Children’s growing up by reading poetry has little to do with parents. |
| B．Five poets can at most offer five definitions of poetry. |
| C．Poetry contains pleasant language including a hammer. |
| D．Poetry conveys complicated meanings in a short and simple format. |
| A．the burden caused by studies | B．other peer classmates’ comments |
| C．having a tough time understanding poetry | D．losing interest in reading |
| A．Attracted | B．Frightened | C．Cleared | D．Destroyed |
3 . Kwame Alexander is a best-selling author of 24 books. His novel in verse (诗体) The Crossover won the Newbery Medal in 2015, and was followed by another verse novel in 2016, Booked. In the just-released The Playbook: 52 Rules to Aim, Shoot, and Score in This Game Called Life, Alexander aims to inspire readers to dream big and reach for their goals.
Time For Kids:
What can you tell us about The Playbook?
Kwame Alexander:
I wanted to write a book about how important it is to persevere (坚持) and accept the challenges that come, because they only make you stronger. And I wanted to do it in a really cool and fun way, using sports as a metaphor (隐喻), so students would be interested in reading a book that is telling them how to make their lives better.
TFK:
Where did you get the idea for the book?
Alexander:
In The Crossover, the father of the main characters, Josh and Jordan, gives them these rules for life, called Basketball Rules. Well, I was having breakfast with a friend of mine in New York City. He said, “Kwame, I love those Basketball Rules you have in The Crossover. You should think about writing a whole book on those.” That’s where it all began.
TFK:
Is it hard to mix sports and poetry (诗歌)?
Alexander:
I love sports, and I’ve been writing poetry since I was a kid. So those two things are as natural to me as breathing, laughing and walking.
TFK:
You’ve said teachers need to make learning poetry fun. Did you have a teacher like this as a kid?
Alexander:
My mom. She read poetry to my sisters and me when I was a kid, and she would make the words jump off the page!
TFK:
What advice would you give to young writers?
Alexander:
Read everything you can get your hands on. The best way to become a good writer is to read what other people have written.
1. What can we learn about The Playbook?| A．It is a historical novel. |
| B．It won the Newbery Medal. |
| C．It is actually about rules for life. |
| D．It is based on Alexander’s true life. |
| A．His mom who read poetry to him. |
| B．The teacher who taught him poetry. |
| C．His friend who read The Crossover. |
| D．The two characters in The Crossover. |
| A．It was rather boring. | B．It was quite difficult. |
| C．It was pretty mysterious. | D．It was very interesting. |
| A．Always dream big. |
| B．Gladly accept challenges. |
| C．Read as much as possible. |
| D．Have a wide knowledge of poetry. |
The history of Chinese poetry dates back almost 2,700 years
Poetry, paintings, and calligraphy (书法) are three of these art forms that go particularly well together. Many poets were also excellent
5 . We all like fantasy stories, and grow up reading and listening to fantasies. These tales fuel our imaginations, and satisfy our longings for adventures. The most interesting thing about fantasies is that their plots involve magical beasts and heroes，animal creatures talking like humans，and other things we can’t see in real life. Also, fantasies have a distinguished writing style, with freedom of expression.
Toy Fantasy
In toy fantasy stories, narrators(叙述者)bring their beloved toys to life that can live, talk, think，breathe and behave like human beings. You would see modern toy fantasies in a picture book format. Representative works are A. A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh and Carlo Collodi’s The Adventures of Pinocchio.
Animal Fantasy
The animal fantasy tells tales about animals behaving like human beings, experiencing emotions, and having the ability to talk. However, animals in fantasies hold their various animal characteristics, too. Examples include The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, Charlotte's Web by E. B. White, and The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter which influences children around the world.
Magical Fantasy
In a magical fantasy, you see a character having magical powers, or a strange magical object becomes the subject of the story. Stories of this type began widely spreading long ago, including Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and William Steig’s Sylvester and the Magic Pebble.
Modern Folktales
Modern folktales are types of fantasy that narrators tell in a traditional tale accompanying some typical parts, such as strong conflict, little description of characters, and sometimes magical elements. These tales come before all others and are popular, as authors throughout history, have written them. Hans Christian Andersen has written several tales of this category including The Nightingale, The Emperor’s New Clothes and Thumbelina.
1. What is the common feature of the fantasies?| A．Their characters are highly popular. |
| B．Their events occur in the unreal world. |
| C．Their writing styles show desires for freedom. |
| D．Their plots encourage people to have adventures. |
| A．Carlo Collodi. | B．Beatrix Potter. |
| C．William Steig. | D．Hans Christian Andersen. |
| A．The toy fantasy. | B．The animal fantasy. |
| C．The magical fantasy. | D．The modern folktales. |
| A．A novel. | B．A newspaper. | C．A person. |
7 . Literature reflects life. So in ageing Japan there are a large number of hit books by aged authors. “Age 90: what’s so great about it?” is a humorous essay on the difficulties of the elderly, by Aiko Sato, who is 95. It sold one million copies in 2017, making it Japan’s bestselling book that year.
In 2018 the Akutagawa literary prize went to Chisako Wakatake, 63 at the time, for her first novel “Live by Myself”. The books talk about how to live in old age. “Going to Die Soon”, also by Ms Uchidate, features 78-year-old Hana, a former alcohol-shop owner trying to make the most of her remaining years. The novel has been called a book for shukatsu, or preparing for death, making readers think more deeply about what it means to age.
Japan’s population has the world’s highest percentage of over-65s. People are living longer, so many have at least 20-30 years of retirement, for much of which they are energetic.
And although the Japanese have been spending less on books, that is least true for the over-60s. Lawson, a convenience-store chain, recently decided to stock books with the older generation in mind.
But the wrinkly writers’ books are attracting younger readers, too. Some are preparing for their own old age or want to understand the increasing number of old people they see around them. Others find relevance in the themes explored, such as loneliness, a problem that stretches well beyond the silver-haired.
The most notable feature of the new trend is that the vast majority of authors, and main characters, are women. Especially popular, are the ara-hun (“around-hundred” years-old) writers like Ms Sato, whose book, readers say, helps them be more positive. Their popularity also reflects support for strong women who are passionate about their work, a phenomenon that is all too rare in Japan today.
1. “Going to Die Soon” is a book ________.| A．about how to stay positive in old age |
| B．which won the Akutagawa literary prize in 2018 |
| C．which helps people live the rest of the life to the fullest |
| D．written by a 78-year-old Hana, an alcohol-shop owner |
| A．young readers now have more elder relatives |
| B．young readers face similar problems as the elderly |
| C．young readers are worried about becoming old |
| D．young readers are as lonely as the elderly |
| A．Aged writers might be more successful than younger writers. |
| B．An aging society brings more chances for women writers. |
| C．People have to work after their retirement in an aging society. |
| D．Ambitious career women might not be popular with the Japanese. |
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。
Jane Eyre is a world-famous storybook, which is very popular to middle school students. The main character Jane is one of my favorite heroine. The book tells us not only about her hard life and about her efforts to gain her happiness. It were her perseverance and determination which helped her to get what she deserved at last. I liked Jane very much, and her story leaves a great effect on her life and study. I make up my mind work hard at my lessons. Meanwhile, I will try to make the full use of any opportunity to train my characters, especial my tolerance and perseverance to solve all of the difficulties in my life.
9 . World Book Day falls on April 23rd every year，but do you know that it is also Shakespeare Day? Everybody may have heard of Shakespeare，but do you know how many plays he wrote?
Shakespeare’s plays have three kinds：tragedies，comedies and histories. His most famous play is the tragic story of Romeo and Juliet，which deals with two young lovers who are not allowed to marry by their parents. Other tragedies include Hamlet，Othello，and Macbeth.
Shakespeare’s comedies include Much Ado About Nothing ,A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Twelfth Night. Twelfth Night is a play about unclear identities. Two twins are shipwrecked (遭海难)and the sister，Viola，dresses up as her brother，Sebastian，who she thinks is dead. It’s funny，because the brother reappears and there’s a big love problem going on：Viola is in love with the Duke，who is in love with Olivia，who falls in love with Sebastian except that she doesn’t realize that Sebastian is actually Viola dressed up！Everybody falls in love with the wrong person，but it is all made right in the end.
Some of his history plays，such as Antony and Cleopatra，Richard III and Henry V, are based on the lives of real historical people. In Antony and Cleopatra，Cleopatra becomes Antony’s girlfriend and Antony becomes so crazy about her that he loses control of the army. Cleopatra kills herself in the end and Antony kills himself too.
Shakespeare’s plays can he very difficult sometimes. Some of the themes they deal with are heavy，so they almost always include a lighter subplot with characters that are not so important. They are often used in tragedies to lighten the mood of the play and to keep the audience interested in the main plot.
1. Which of the following plays is best－known to people?| A．Twelfth Night. | B．Antony and Cleopatra. |
| C．Romeo and Juliet. | D．Much Ado About Nothing. |
| A．Othello. | B．Sebastian. |
| C．Antony. | D．Hamlet. |
| A．Some of them are developed from real historical people. |
| B．There are only three famous history plays. |
| C．They are more difficult than tragedies and comedies. |
| D．Real historical events can he found in every history play. |
| A．To lead the development of the main plot. |
| B．To help the audience understand the plays. |
| C．To make the difficult plot of the plays simple. |
| D．To relax the audience and make them follow the main theme. |
10 . Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre, a novel written by Charlotte Bronte, was published in 1847 in England. It is Charlotte Bronte’s most famous book. Jane Eyre is a love story. It tells about a young and independent woman called Jane Eyre, who is brave enough to pursue her own love.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Uncle Tom’s Cabin is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in 1852, the novel “helped lay the base for the Civil War”, according to Will Kaufman. When Abraham Lincoln met Stowe at the start of the Civil War, Lincoln declared, “So it is the little lady who started this great war.” The character of Uncle Tom in the novel is a longsuffering black slave. The sad novel exposes the reality of slavery.
Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind is a novel by Margaret Mitchell in 1936. It tells the story of Scarlett O’Hara, and her adventures in the American South during the Civil War. She falls in love with Rhett Butler, a city gentleman. It is one of the most famous books of its time, and was made into a movie with the same name. The title took its name from the lines an Ernest Dowson poem: “I have forgotten much, Cynara! Gone with the wind.” (This line also appears in the book.) The book won the Pulitzer Prize on May 3,1937.
Rich Dad Poor Dad
Rich Dad Poor Dad is a book by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter. In the story, Robert’s own father was the superintendent (厅长) of education in Hawaii and end up dying penniless. His best friend’s father dropped out of school at age 13 and went on to become one of the wealthiest men in Hawaii. It advocates financial independence through investing, real estate (地产), owning businesses, and the use of finance protection tactics.
1. Whose book had a great impact on the Civil War in the U.S.?| A．Charlotte Bronte’s. |
| B．Harriet Beecher Stowe’s. |
| C．Margaret Mitchell’s. |
| D．Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter’s. |
| A．An adventurous story. | B．The Civil War. |
| C．A poem. | D．The Pulitzer Prize. |
| A．A woman who is eager for free love. |
| B．A historian who studies the history of the U.S.A. |
| C．A businessman who wants to be wealthy. |
| D．A politician who warns to enter politics. |
