1 . The 67th Miss Universe beauty pageant (选美比赛) will take place December 16 in Bangkok, Thailand. The competition will include young women from around the world representing their countries. But one South American country, Chile, will not be represented by a native Chilean. Instead, Andrea Diaz, a native of Venezuela (委内瑞拉) will have that honor.
Diaz grew up in Valencia, Venezuela. She began training as a model at age 12 at a school there. At 19, she won a pageant organized by her town’s baseball team. As Diaz moved along her career path, she also moved away from home. She went first to Panama, and later to Mexico, for modeling jobs. In 2015, she settled in Chile, where most of her family members now live. The 27-year-old woman told the reporter, “I represent the new Chile. This is an inclusive (包容的) country where immigrants come in search of opportunities.”
Thousands of people leave Venezuela each day to escape a lack of food and medicine in the country. Its economic crisis (危机) has created an almost 1 million percent inflation (通货膨胀) rate. Many beauty pageant hopefuls have left Venezuela and have found work in modeling and media fields. Diaz is one of several Venezuelan beauty pageant competitors representing countries other than their homeland.
A recent Miss Earth pageant had two Venezuelan models who competed for other countries, including Jessica Russo. Russo represented Peru just one year after moving to the country. She said, “My dream of being a beauty queen is not going to stop just because I arrived in a new country.” The 22-year-old competitor did not make it into the Miss Earth finals. But she is not giving up. She says she hopes to one day win a competition for Peru, the country where her mother was born.
1. Who can take part in the beauty pageant held in Bangkok, Thailand?| A．Only young women from Chile. |
| B．Only young women from the university in Venezuela. |
| C．Young women from Venezuela. |
| D．Young women from all over the world. |
| A．Chile. | B．Venezuela. |
| C．Panama. | D．Mexico. |
| A．Economic situation in Venezuela is becoming better and better. |
| B．Women in Venezuela have to work as models in their country. |
| C．Venezuelan beauty competitors have to represent other countries. |
| D．Venezuelan beauty hopefuls have found work in educational fields. |
| A．Her dream of being a beauty queen. | B．Not giving up. |
| C．The place where her mother was born. | D．Moving to a new country. |
2 . Sports can help you keep fit and get in touch with nature. However, whether you are on the mountains, in the waves, or on the grassland, you should be aware that your sport of choice might have great influence on the environment.
Some sports are resource-hungry. Golf, as you may know, eats up not only large areas of countryside, but also tons of water. Besides, all sorts of chemicals and huge amounts of energy are used to keep its courses （球场） in good condition. This causes major environmental effects. For example, in the dry regions of Portugal and Spain, golf is often held responsible for serious water shortage in some local areas.
There are many environment-friendly sports. Power walking is one of them that you could take up today. You don’t need any special equipment except a good pair of shoes; and you don’t have to worry about resources and your purse. Simple and free, power walking can also keep you fit. If you walk regularly, it will be good for your heart and bones. Experts say that 20 minutes of power walking daily can make you feel less anxious, sleep well and have better weight control.
Whatever sport you take up, you can make it greener by using environment-friendly equipment and buying products made from recycled materials. But the final goal should be “green gyms”. They are better replacements for traditional health clubs and modern sports centers. Members of green gyms play sports outdoors, in the countryside or other open spaces. There is no special requirement for you to start your membership. And best of all, it’s free.
1. Which of the following is the author most probably in favor of?| A．Cycling around a lake. |
| B．Motor racing in the desert. |
| C．Playing basketball in a gym. |
| D．Swimming in a sports center. |
| A．It is popular in Portugal and Spain. |
| B．It causes water shortages around the world. |
| C．It pollutes the earth with chemicals and wastes. |
| D．It needs water and electricity to keep its courses green. |
| A．it is an outdoor sport |
| B．it improves our health |
| C．it uses fewer resources |
| D．it is recommended by experts |
| A．show us the function of major sports |
| B．encourage us to go in for green sports |
| C．discuss the major influence of popular sports |
| D．introduce different types of environment-friendly sports |
3 . Obviously, most people who try to lose weight generally focus all or most of their attention on the food they eat. But what about their behavior? Are there habits they could be breaking that would also help them lose weight?
According to the Ohio State University Extension, which summarized the findings, the researchers learned people who routinely ate breakfasts, lunches, and dinners tended to have more success losing weight than people whose eating schedules were irregular. As a bonus, they were also more likely to eat a larger quantity of fruits and vegetables.
One activity that brought a disaster to people who wanted to lose weight was watching television, particularly if they ate while watching TV — especially if they ate while watching TV after 7 p.m. People who did these things, including simply watching a lot of television, tended to have a higher body mass index (BMI), as well as a higher intake of fat and sugars.
Those who ate out a lot also tended to take in more fat and sugars, while eating fewer fruits and vegetables. For the purposes of the study, eating away from home was defined not only as eating in restaurants but also eating food provided by an employer or colleagues at work, buying food at convenience stores or gas stations, or buying food for fund-raisers.
Finally, the best results were achieved by those motivated people who kept writing the track of the amount and type of exercise they did and how many calories they ate, who planned meals, and used meal replacements. Those who did these things the most generally lost more weight, ate less fat and sugars, ate more fruits and vegetables, and engaged in more physical activities.
So cutting out all those high-calorie snacks will help you lose weight. If so, apparently, will change some of your habits and behavior.
1. According to the researchers we can know that____.| A．losing weight depends on food a person eat | B．regular eating routine is good for losing weight |
| C．fruits and vegetables can keep you healthy | D．eating irregularly will leave you in a good figure |
| A．Because they had a particular love for sweets |
| B．Because they were fond of watching TV at night |
| C．Because they developed a kind of bad habit |
| D．Because they did nothing but watch TV after 7 p.m. |
| A．the bosses like to invite his employees to dinner | B．more and more people are content to eat out |
| C．eating away from home does harm to health | D．it is very convenient to have dinners outside |
| A．To encourage people to eat at home | B．To inspire people to take exercise |
| C．To advise people to refuse calories | D．To help people get more motivation |
注意：1.词数100左右；
2．开头和结尾已给出，但不计入总词数。
Dear Mary，
I am sorry to hear that you have been ill for days and hope you have got better now.
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Yours,
Li Hua
5 . Seattle, Washington may be nicknamed “Rain City”, but it's snow that's making it famous. On January 12, Seattle residents set the Guinness World Record for the largest snowball fight. More than 5, 800 people showed up to throw snowballs at one another at the Seattle Center.
It didn’t snow in Seattle on that day, but there was snow in a small corner of the city--enough to make a lot of kids' dreams come true. Trucks hauled (拉) 34 loads of snow from Snoqualmie Pass, an hour away in Washington's Cascade mountain range, to the Seattle Center. It took 162, 000 pounds of the white stuff to build the winter wonderland.
The goal was to break the Guinness World Record for the biggest snowball fight. The event was also a fundraiser for the Boys and Girls Clubs of King County. Seattle businessman Neil Bergquist took three months to organize the playful battle. He wanted to raise money for kids “by remembering what it was like to feel like a kid”.
Although Seattle residents aren’t used to snow, they succeeded in getting enough people to come out and play. About 6,000 tickets were sold online. Participants were given bar-coded(条形码的) wristbands when they arrived. The wristbands were scanned as participants entered and left the location, so Guinness could count the number of participants at all times. There were 130 judges for the official one-and-a-half-minute snowball fight. Anyone not throwing snowballs was not counted in total.
To raise money for the Boys and Girls Clubs, companies paid for space to build snow forts (堡垒). A Guinness official confirmed the count of 5,834 people. Seattle beat the previous world record of about 5, 400 at a 2010 snowball fight in South Korea.
“We had much fun, set a Guinness record and raised some money for kids. Everyone had a chance to act like a kid for a day.” Bergquist said.
1. Seattle prepared for its snowball fight event by .| A．carrying snow from somewhere else | B．having residents sell tickets |
| C．putting ads on the Internet | D．building many snow houses |
| A．To bring fun to participants. | B．To attract more visitors. |
| C．To raise funds for poor kids. | D．To break the world record. |
| A．adding up the sold tickets | B．numbering the real fighters |
| C．scanning the bar-coded wristbands | D．counting those entering the location |
| A．it often snows in Seattle |
| B．the participants were mainly children |
| C．the snowball fight lasted for half an hour |
| D．about 100 participants didn’t throw snowballs |
1. 注意合理饮食；饮用适量的水分；
2. 保证充足的睡眠；远离坏的生活习惯；
3. 坚持锻炼身体，多参加体育运动；保持积极乐观的生活态度。
注意： 1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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7 . Most children have ever heard their parents yell“sit up straight!”or “don’t slouch(无精打采)！”when they eat dinner. Nowadays, it is also heard around another activity -video games. Ten-year-old Owaish admits it takes him three to four hours a day to play games on his tablet computer. In addition, he plays for about two hours on the smart phone every day. As a result, he started suffering a severe pain in the neck around June or July. What's worse, the pain has spread to the hand and back gradually, which makes his mother Mehzabin become concerned.
The doctors note the number of young children with the chronic pain (慢性痛) in their necks，arms and shoulders is on the increase sharply in recent years. They are not aging, they haven't had an accident, the blood reports are fine, their X-rays are fine. Facts have proved that the pain is from the poor posture while they are playing video games on smart phones or other electronic devices. 19-year-old student Nida feels pain in the finger which holds the weight of her smart phone most of the day. Nida almost uses her smart phone 24/7, which means 24 hours a day,seven days a week, or all the time.
Health experts predict there will be not only physical but psychological and emotional problems resulting from the overuse of electronic devices. They encourage people to often take breaks and exercise from using computers,smart phones or other devices. Stand up. Stretch the legs, back, shoulders and arms in all the possible directions. That is the most effective way and maybe the key to solving the problem completely. After all, the medication does not help sometimes.
1. What is Mehzabin worried about?| A．Her son has no table manners |
| B．Her son doesn’t work hard at school |
| C．Her son’s physical problems get worse |
| D．Her son spends much money on video games |
| A．Adults don’t have the problem |
| B．It is caused by the wrong body position |
| C．Using a heavy smart phone will cause it. |
| D．Children with it usually have other diseases |
| A．people should stop using smart phones |
| B．the best treatment for the chronic pain is exercising |
| C．people must take medicine to cure the chronic pain |
| D．the chronic pain has nothing to do with ones mental health |
| A．A health report |
| B．A news story |
| C．A research plan |
| D．A business magazine |
8 . Winchester Poetry Prize
This contest from the Winchester Poetry Festival is intended for “surprise and delight”. However, don’t try to surprise and delight them with a short story or a photo of your cat dancing in a Tutu. Stick to a poem of up to 40 lines.
Closing: Quarterly.
Prizes: £1,000, £500, £250.
Entry Fee: £5.
Starts Theatre One-Act Play Competition
This annual contest from Strerts Theatre in Cornwall is for plays for up to four adult actors, with a running time of between 25 and 35 minutes. Plays can be on any theme; You need to be 18 or over to enter.
Closing: Annually.
Prizes: £100 plus performance of your play in Sterns Studio.
Entry Fee: £7.
Artificium Short Stories & Poetry Prizes
This one from Artificium, a journal of new fiction and poetry, has two categories: Short Stories and In Brief. The former is for stories of between 2,000 and 8,000 words in any genre（体裁）. The latter is for poetry of between 500 and 1,000 words.
Closing: End of each month.
Prizes: £200, £100, £50.
Entry Fee: £5 for one, £9 for two.
PENfro Open Poetry Competition.
This contest from the PENfro Book Festival is for poems of up to 40 lines on any subject and in any style. Costa Award winning poet Jonathan Edwards, whose taste in poetry is broad-ranging, will be judging.
Closing: End of each month.
prizes: £300, £100, £75. The top ten winners will be invited to read their works at a spoken word event at which Jonathan Edwards will present the prizes.
Entry Fee: £4.
1. Which contest has a discounted entry fee for two?| A．Winchester Poetry Prize. |
| B．PENfro Open Poetry Competition. |
| C．Artificium Short Stories &Poetry Prizes. |
| D．Sterts Theatre One-Act Play Competition. |
| A．poems of up to 40 lines |
| B．plays for up to four adult actors |
| C．short stories with a surprising ending |
| D．poetry of between 500 and 1,000 words |
| A．It takes place twice a year. |
| B．Jonathan Edwards is the sponsor. |
| C．A spoken word event will be held. |
| D．The entry fee will be returned to winners. |
| A．The prizes are the same. |
| B．They are both held monthly. |
| C．Jonathan Edwards will be the judge. |
| D．Their requirements of poem lines are the same. |
9 . Today, I had the good fortune to join the students from East Silver Spring Elementary School in Maryland as they walked and biked to school in celebration of International Walk to School Day. I want to thank Principal Morrow and the entire ESS community for welcoming me so enthusiastically.
Walk to School Day is a great opportunity for me to spend time with parents, kids, and teachers and to present our Safe Routes to School program and the First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move initiative（倡议）.
As a father, grandfather and former schoolteacher, I know how important it is that we provide students with safe choice to get to school while promoting exercise and healthy lifestyles. That’s why I’ve embraced the Safe Routes to School program so wholeheartedly since I became Secretary of Transportation.
You know, we’re looking at an increasingly sedentary（久坐的）generation of children. One out of every three kids in America is now overweight. And I admire the First Lady’s effort to end this within a generation. Safe Routes to School is a natural partner for Let’s Move. For more than 10 years, Safe Routes to School has been making it easier for students to walk and bike from home to school. And ESS, where I walked today, is one of the earliest schools to participate.
We know this program has been enormously effective because of the steady increase in the number of kids walking or biking to school. And as we made our way down the street this morning I was reminded yet again of this program’s extraordinary work.
Look, walking and biking to school is good for students’ health. It’s good for the environment. And it’s good for the entire community’s quality of life.
Everybody wins when kids take Safe Routes to School.
1. We can learn from the text that Michelle Obama ________.| A．organized Safe Routes to School |
| B．set up Walk to School Day |
| C．first suggested the program Let’s Move |
| D．joined Walk to School Day with kids |
| A．it makes Walk to School Day popular with children |
| B．it reduces the number of children who are overweight |
| C．it makes it easier for students to walk and bike from home to school |
| D．it stops the number of children walking or biking to school from dropping |
| A．a diary | B．a public speech |
| C．a news report | D．an advertisement |
10 . Before there was the written word, there was the language of dance. Dance expresses love and hate, joy and sorrow, life and death, and everything else in between.
“I adore dancing,” says Lester Bridges, the owner of a dance studio in Iowa. “I can’t imagine doing anything else with my life.” Bridges runs dance classes for all ages. “Teaching dance is wonderful.
So, do we dance in order to make ourselves feel better, calmer, healthier? Andrea Hillier says, “Dance, like the pattern of a beating heart, is life. Even after all these years, I want to get better and better.
| A．So why do we dance? |
| B．Dance in the U.S. is everywhere. |
| C．If you like dancing outdoors, come to America. |
| D．My older students say it makes them feel young. |
| E．I keep practicing even when I’m extremely tired. |
| F．Dancing seems to change their feeling completely. |
| G．They stayed up all night long singing and dancing. |
