1 . Narrative (叙事) poems — which simply mean “story poems”— are among the oldest forms of literature. Before there were printed books, people would tell stories through narrative poems, using rhythm, repetition and vivid language to make their tales easy to remember and share.     1     But modern narrative poems often have very free rhythms or no rhyme at all! However, almost all narrative poems tell a story that has a beginning, middle and end. Once you’re ready to write your own narrative poem, keep these tips in mind.

Choose a topic. Pick a story that you really want to tell.     2    Remember, the narrator of the poem doesn’t have to be you. It can be a character of your choice.

Skip the build­up. Narrative poems don’t waste words introducing characters or explaining the scene — most dive right in. Try starting your narrative poem in the middle of the action scene.     3    

Sweat the small stuff (小事). The best narrative poems use exact, descriptive words that bring out a story’s details and paint a rich picture.     4     You can use adjectives that help describe what the world looks, sounds, smells, tastes, and feels like, so readers will experience it just like you do.

    5     This is an especially good strategy if your narrative poem is long. Try repeating key words or phrases that are emotional or musical a few times. Remember Martin Luther King’s famous speech? He says “I have a dream” eight times during that speech, which is part of what makes it so powerful.

As an athlete, Mike had been practicing hard. He preferred     1     (play) basketball rather than stay indoors in his free time. His favorite player was Jordan, who was a famous champion. Mike had a strong desire     2    (play) for his team. However, he was the shortest player in the team, so he was usually on the bench, being just a replacement,     3     was really tough on him.

Once two players crashed     4     each other during a game and one of them was badly hurt. The team quickly gathered around and the doctor put on ice pack on his knee. In that case the coach had to let Mike play, so Mike rushed onto the court. All the extra hours that he’d spent practising alone     5    (pay) off. The other team just couldn’t keep up with his energy and speed and the audience couldn’t stop clapping and     6    (cheer). At last, Mike earned his place on the team!

Mike likes many kinds of sports, such as jogging, cycling and boxing. He is in good shape, for he always keeps a     7     (balance) diet. He drinks a large amount of water every day. He also     8     (offer) some tips on sports on his blog. For example, long-distance running has a lot of benefits. It can strengthen your immune system and relieve you of some ache. It also helps you see     9     you are capable of. If you are fed up with your life, do some running! You don’t need some special     10     (equip). Do some warm­up activities before running, which will prevent you from being injured. If you keep it up, you will be amazed at your strong body some day!

4 . How to Write a Poem

Writing a poem is about observing the world within or around you. A poem can be about anything, from love to loss to the old gate at the old farm.     1    .

Do writing exercises. A poem might start as a snippet (片段) of a poem, a line or two that seems to come out of nowhere. You can find inspiration for your poem by doing writing exercises and using the world around you.     2    , you can then shape and model your thoughts into a poem.

Get inspired by your environment and those close to you.     3    , even if you don’t see it just yet. Think of every memory, situation and moment as a possible topic and you’ll start seeing poetry all around you!

Pick a specific theme. Picking a specific theme to focus on in the poem can give your poem a clear goal or objective.     4    . At the same time, you can more easily use the themes with images and descriptions in your poem.

    5    . There are many different poetic forms that you can use, from poem to rhyming couplet (对句). You may go for a poetic form that you find easy to use, such as free poem, or a form that you find more challenging, such as a sonnet.

5 . As a child, Robin Stevens loved reading murder mystery stories. She _________ herself in the worlds of fictional detectives(侦探) like Hercule Poirot, Sherlock Holmes and Miss Marple. These childhood heroes now _________ her own detective stories and most recently the first in her new _________ of books was called The Ministry of Unladylike Activity.

This series is set in the Second World War (1939—45) and tells the story of May Wong, _________, with her friend Eric, wants to be a spy(间谍). They _________ a case at the mysterious Elysium Hall. Stevens tells The Week Junior that all her characters are _________ “parts of myself, parts of friends and some historical characters who I _________.”

Stevens tries to write 2,000 words every day when she’s first _________ a story. “It’s complicated(复杂的) and I think, ‘This is _________, I can’t write’,” she says, but then she goes back, checks and __________ a few pages at a time and __________ the story comes together. She says her snack of choice is jelly beans, to keep her brain __________.

“If you want to write, you have to __________,” she says, or at least, __________ stories from books, TV or films. Although writing can be hard and __________, if you give a few minutes to it every day, week or month, you will improve. Remember to have fun with a story, Stevens says, “and if you’re not having fun, write something else.”

6 . 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.

In 1976, the crew of a US Navy boat near Hawaii witnessed something truly amazing. As they pulled up the anchor from the sea floor some 200 metres below, they were surprised to see that a 4.5-metre shark had swallowed it and was being lifted onto their boat. The crew were fascinated by this wonderful creature,     1    no one had any idea what species the shark belonged to.

Scientists later examined the shark and concluded that     2    was a completely new species. The shark was then given the name “megamouth”—a very suitable name, given its extremely large jaws.

Since this discovery only thirty—six more megamouth sharks     3    (sight). This is one of the newest species of fish     4    (discover), and many things about it are still a mystery.

When we think of sharks, usually we think of predators like great whites. Great whites, at 3.7 metres in length, are     5    (feared)animals in the sea, preying on small whales, seals, other sharks and sometimes even people. They demonstrate incredible power and speed when     6    (hunt). However, not all sharks are dangerous. For example, sharks such as the megamouth live off plankton and other small fish, and will never attack humans. Indeed, there are actually more than 360 species of shark, from the whale shark     7    can reach 14 metres in length, to a much smaller shark which measures only 21 centimetres from head to tail.

Despite their differences, all sharks     8    have some things in common. For example, sharks do not have bones, but have flexible cartilage instead which makes them very good swimmers. Also,     9    most fish, many species of shark hatch their eggs inside their bodies, giving birth to live baby sharks.     10    scientists have learnt a lot in recent years, there are still many things about both sharks and the deep blue sea which we do not understand.

Who knows? There may be many other species of marine life even stranger than the megamouth, still unknown and waiting to be discovered.

A Polite Request

If you park your car in the wrong place,     1     traffic policeman will soon find it. You will be very     2    (luck) if he lets you go without a ticket. However,     3     does not always happen. Traffic police     4    (be) sometimes very polite. During a holiday in Sweden, I     5    (find) this note on my car: “Sir, we welcome you to     6    (we) city. This is a ‘No     7    (park)’ area. You will enjoy your stay here     8     you pay attention to our street signs. This note is only a     9    (remind).” If you receive a request like this, you cannot fail     10    (obey) it!