1 . Share your poems, get feedback (反馈) for your poetry, and enter poetry contests (竞 赛). Choose from the following poetry contests that you can enter. Get feedback for every poem that you write including your contest entries.
How It Works
As a member, you will get feedback for everything you write. You can enter poetry contests with cash prizes. You will be ranked ( 分等级). Write and see how the feedback you receive influences your rank. Since the year 2000 we have been helping writers improve their writing skills.
Poetry Contests in May
Friendship across cultures
Write a story about a friend that opened your world to another culture.
Deadline: Today!
Technology wars
Write a story on the topic provided in the announcement.
Deadline: Today!
Lyrics make the song
Poetry Contests in June
Pen your newest, and best, song lyric masterpieces and enter them into this contest.
NO POETRY ALLOWED FOR THIS CONTEST!
Must be song lyrics only.
Deadline: June 1st
Unexpected romance
Write a story that brings two people together, two people who don't necessarily realize that they belong together but the audience is rooting for them. Write a story for a cash prize.
Deadline: June 15th
*Click the following link to get more information: https://www.poetrylovers.cn/
1. Which of the following statements about the contests in May is NOT true?| A．They are topic-based. |
| B．They offer feedback to every entry. |
| C．The contestants can write whatever they like. |
| D．Entries are due when this announcement comes out. |
| A．can’t hand in a poem |
| B．should sing a song |
| C．get an opportunity to win a cash prize |
| D．must enter your work before July 3rd |
| A．A writing guide book. | B．A poetry magazine. |
| C．A newspaper. | D．A website. |
2 . King's College Summer School
King's College Summer School is an annual( 每年的) training program for high school students at all levels who want to improve their English. Courses are given by the teachers of King' s College and other colleges in New York. Trips to museums and culture centers are also organized. This year's summer school will be from July 25 to August 15.
More information is as follows:
Application (申请) date Students in New York should send their applications before July 18, 2011. Students of other cities should send their applications before July 16, 2011. Foreign students should send their applications before July 10, 2011. | Courses English Language Spoken English: 22 hours Reading and Writing: 10 hours American History: 16 hours American Culture: 16 hours |
Steps A letter of self-introduction A letter of recommendation(推荐) ﹡ The letters should be written in English with all the necessary information. | Cost Daily lessons: $200 Sports and activities: $100 Travels: $200 Hotel service: $400 ﹡You may choose to live with your friends or relatives in the same city. |
Please write to: Thompson, Sanders 1026 King' s Street New York, NY 10016, USA E-mail: KC-Summer-School@ yahoo.com | |
1. You can most probably read the text in ________.
| A．a textbook | B．a travel guide |
| C．a newspaper | D．a telephone book |
| A．$200 | B．$400 |
| C．$900 | D．$500 |
| A．You can write to Thompson only in English. |
| B．The program will last two months. |
| C．As a Chinese student, you can send your application on July 14, 2011. |
| D．You can get in touch with the school by e-mail or by telephone. |
3 . People may set an alarm on the phone or clock that sounds like this: beep beep beep. That hard, unpleasant sound may be making it harder to shake off the sleepy feeling in the morning known as grogginess. So, is there a better way to wake up? A recent study says yes. The answer is music.
The study, carried out by researchers in Australia, involved 50 people. The researchers found that people who wake up to musical alarms reported feeling more awake and alert. Stuart McFarlane, a lead writer of the study stated, “We are very surprised by these findings as one might expect a harsh beeping sound to be more successful,” at waking up a person.
Sleep inertia is another term for grogginess. It means a person has a heavy feeling when waking up, and has trouble getting moving again after sleeping. McFarlane said people need to better understand sleep inertia’s harmful effects on human performance later in the day.
Not everyone will experience the full effect. But for those who do, “care should be taken” when performing duties that require a top performance within this period, he said. This includes “dangerous tasks like driving or riding our bikes” shortly after waking up. The same is true for people who work in dangerous situations shortly after they wake, including firefighters and pilots.
So, what makes musical alarms better for waking up? The researchers think the music may be more successful in reducing sleep inertia because it has several tones, compared to the single tone of a “beeping” alarm. McFarlane said that the changes over time between the music tones may help increase a person’s attention when waking from sleep.
And is there a kind of music that is best to wake up to? There may be, McFarlane said. “We could suggest alarm sounds that are tune full and easy to hum or sing along with. The current sounds I have been using include ‘Close to me’ by the Cure and ‘Borderline’ by Madonna.”
No matter how you wake up, experts say, the amount of sleep you get also matters a lot.
1. Which of the following might be the best title for the text?| A．What is grogginess? | B．Why are musical alarms better? |
| C．Which music is the best? | D．How can we overcome grogginess? |
| A．Sleep inertia is another cause for grogginess. |
| B．How long a person sleeps is of great importance. |
| C．The ‘beeping’ alarm is not effective mainly because of its noisy tone. |
| D．It is dangerous for everyone to effective mainly because of its noisy tone. |
| A．example of good musical alarms |
| B．more finding of the application of music |
| C．explanations about why music is more helpful |
| D．suggestions on how to sleep well and feel fresh each morning |
| A．Health. | B．Fiction. | C．Technology. | D．Entertainment. |
4 . The days of dragging heavy luggage through an airport may be over thanks to a new robotic suitcase that follows its owner like a loyal dog.
Called Cowa Robot, the $650 carry-on suitcase moves on its own at a top speed of nearly 4.5mph and can find its way back to its owner within a distance of 164 feet.
To activate (启动) it, all the user has to do is press a hidden button in the handle and start walking — it will automatically keep up thanks to high-tech sensors in the case and a tracker bracelet (手环) worn by the traveler. High-tech sensors in the case and a bracelet make the Cowa Robot stays around 2 feet behind its owner.
Designed by a Shanghai-based startup, Cowa Robot was built with the latest in robotics to avoid objects in its path and actively look for its owner if it gets separated. The carry-on case has a built-in camera sensor to find its owner and it connects to a smartphone app via Bluetooth.
It follows at a 45-degree radius and can be programmed to follow a specific path, and it has a handle so it can be dragged when the airport is too crowded. The 10lb suitcase has four USB ports and a built-in battery that can charge a passenger’s mobile phone or tablet, and has a separate section for laptops or other devices. It is made from a sturdy German Bayer PC material to protect its contents and has a logo that lights up.
1. The suitcase will keep up with its owner because it is equipped with .| A．a handle and wheels | B．sensors and a tracker bracelet |
| C．a mobile phone and a tablet | D．a smartphone and a log |
| A．Inside an airport. | B．In a station. |
| C．In a crowded place. | D．In a noisy place. |
| A．A technology report. | B．A guidebook. |
| C．An announcement. | D．An advertisement. |
| A．A suitcase that travels fast. |
| B．A suitcase that looks like a dog. |
| C．A robotic suitcase that follows its owner. |
| D．A more expensive suitcase for travelers. |
5 . Growing up, your mom probably kept telling you that you should make your bed in the morning. But it’s time to put this little habit to rest. In fact, it could be better for your physical health to leave your bed unmade during the day, experts say.
What allows you to be extra lazy? Dust mites (尘螨). These little creatures live on our dead skin and produce allergens that you could breathe in while you are sleeping. And about 1.5 million dust mites are spending every night with you right now. Thankfully, there’s an easy way to get rid of them: Don’t make your bed in the morning.
Researchers at Kingston University have found that dust mites live well in warm and humid (潮湿的) environments but die in dry conditions, the BBC reports. Making your bed every morning produces a good place for these little creatures, but keeping your bed sheets open kills them off. Sometimes it pays to be a little lazy.
“Something as easy as leaving a bed unmade during the day can remove humidity from the bed sheets and mattress. If dust mites won’t be able to get enough water, they’ll finally die,” Dr Stephen Pretlove told the BBC.
Fewer dust mites means fewer health problems, too. However, not all experts agree; according to some, most homes are wet enough for dust mites to live on, no matter what we do. “I find it hard to believe that just not making your bed would have any effect on solving the problem,” Professor Andrew Wardlaw from Britain said.
1. What do experts suggest us doing in Paragraph 1?| A．Following our mothers’ advice. | B．Enjoying good physical health. |
| C．Keeping away from bad habits. | D．Leaving our bed unmade in the morning. |
| A．By keeping our beds dry. | B．By cleaning up our rooms. |
| C．By warming up our rooms. | D．By giving dust mites enough water. |
| A．Not making the bed can make us lazier. |
| B．It’s easy to keep dust mites away from our home. |
| C．Dust mites have nothing to do with health problems. |
| D．Some experts have different ideas about making the bed. |
| A．Sports. | B．Advertisement. |
| C．Science. | D．Business. |
List all the reasons why you want to quit. Every night before going to bed, repeat one of the reasons 10 times.
Decide positively that you want to quit. Try to avoid negative thoughts about how difficult it might be. Develop strong personal reasons as well as your health and responsibility to others. For example, think of all the time you waste taking cigarette breaks, rushing out to buy a pack, hunting a light, etc. Set a date for quitting --- perhaps a special day like your birthday, a holiday. If you smoke heavily at work, quit during your vacation. Make the date seriously, and don't let anything change it. Begin to condition yourself physically; start a modest (适当的) exercise; drink more water; get plenty of rest.
Immediately after quitting...
The first few days after you quit, spend as much free time as possible in places where smoking is prohibited, e.g. libraries, museums, theatres, department stores, etc.
Drink large quantities of water and fruit juice. Try to avoid wine, coffee, and other drinks which remind you of cigarette smoking.
Start a conversation with someone instead of a match for a cigarette.
If you miss the feeling of having a cigarette in your hand, play with something else - a pencil, a pen, a ruler. If you miss having something in your mouth, try a fake (仿制的) cigarette.
1. According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?
| A．Whenever you feel like a cigarette, try to forget it by sleeping. |
| B．Try to start a conversation before asking for a light. |
| C．If you miss the feeling of having a cigarette in your mouth, play with a pen. |
| D．Every night before going to bed, repeat all the reasons 10 times. |
| A．should drink a lot of coffee | B．have to stop to smoke from time to time |
| C．should drink a lot of wine | D．should not do any exercise |
| A．forbidden | B．allowed | C．received | D．welcomed |
| A．Sports | B．News | C．Health | D．Culture |
7 . The baby is just one day old and has not yet left hospital. She is quiet but alert (警觉的). Twenty centimeters from her face researchers have placed a white card with two black spots on it. She stares at it carefully. A researcher removes the card and replaces it by another, this time with the spots differently spaced. As the cards change from one to the other, her gaze(凝视) starts to lose its focus—until a third, with three black spots, is presented. Her gaze returns: she looks at it for twice as long as she did at the previous card. Can she tell that the number two is different from three, just 24 hours after coming into the world?
Or do newborns simply prefer more to fewer? The same experiment, but with three spots shown before two, shows the same return of interest when the number of spots changes. Perhaps it is just the newness? When slightly older babies were shown cards with pictures of objects (a comb, a key, an orange and so on), changing the number of objects had an effect separate from changing the objects themselves. Could it be the pattern that two things make, as opposed to three? No again. Babies paid more attention to squares moving randomly(随意地)on a screen when their number changed from two to three, or three to two. The effect even crosses between senses. Babies who were repeatedly shown two spots became more excited when they then heard three drumbeats than when they heard just two; likewise(同样地) when the researchers started with drumbeats and moved to spots.
1. The experiment described in Paragraph 1 is related to the baby's ________.| A．sense of hearing | B．sense of sight |
| C．sense of touch | D．sense of smell |
| A．the size of cards | B．the colour of pictures |
| C．the shape of patterns | D．the number of objects |
| A．To reduce the difficulty of the experiment. |
| B．To see how babies recognize sounds. |
| C．To carry their experiment further. |
| D．To keep the babies' interest. |
| A．Science fiction. | B．Children’s literature. |
| C．An advertisement. | D．A science report. |
