1 . What are pillows really stuffed with? Not physically, but symbolically? The question occurred to me with the photos in the news and social media from the 50 cities around the world that staged public celebrations for International Pillow Fight Day. Armed with nothing more than bring-our-own sacrificial cushions, strangers struck heavily each other in playful feather from Amsterdam to Atlanta, Warsaw to Washington DC. But why? Is there anything more to this delightful celebration?
As a cultural sign, the pillow is deceptively soft. Since at least the 16th Century, the humble pillow has been given unexpected meanings. The Chinese playwright Tang Xianzu tells a famous story about a wise man who meets a depressed young scholar at an inn and offers him a magic pillow filled with the most vivid dreams of a seemingly more fulfilling life. When the young man awakens to discover that his happy 50-year dream has in fact come and gone in the short space of an afternoon’s nap, our impression of the pillow’s power shifts from wonder to terror.
Subsequent writers have likewise seized upon the pillow. When the 19th-Century English novelist Charlotte Bronte poetically observed “a ruffled (不平的) mind makes a restless pillow”, she didn’t just change the expected order of the adjectives and nouns, but instead she made unclear the boundaries between mind and matter — the thing resting and the thing rested upon.
It’s a trick perhaps Bronte learned from the Renaissance philosopher Montaigne, who once insisted that “ignorance is the softest pillow on which a man can rest his head”. On Montaigne’s thinking, intelligence and happiness confront each other forever in a pillow fight that only one can win.
With the words of Tang. Bronte, and Montaigne, we can perhaps more easily measure the attraction of the global pillow fight. Like a ritual of release, the annual international pillow fight amounts to a kind of cleansing, a brushing off of daily worries: an emptying of the world’s collective mind. Rather than a launch-pad for weightless rest, the pillow is a symbol of heavy thought: an anchor that drags the world’s soul down — one that must be lightened.
1. The example of Tang Xianzu is used to illustrate that ________.| A．pillows give people satisfactory dreams |
| B．dreams are always wonderful while the real world is cruel |
| C．people’s impression of pillows changes from wonder to terror |
| D．pillows symbolically convey the meaning in contrast to their soft appearance |
| A．wrote poems about pillows |
| B．regarded pillows as reflections of our minds |
| C．shared the same viewpoint as Tang Xianzu on pillows |
| D．was likely to have been influenced by the thoughts of the Renaissance |
| A．pillows give us comfort |
| B．pillows make people more intelligent |
| C．people with too many thoughts have less inner peace |
| D．people can easily fall asleep when they know nothing |
| A．Because it is a ritual release. |
| B．Because it makes life delightful. |
| C．Because it comforts restless minds. |
| D．Because it contains a profound meaning of life. |
要点如下：1.历史悠久；2.中国人独有的传统节日；3 .家庭团圆；4 .共进晚餐；5.吃月饼；6 .赏月。
注意事项：
1.词数80 左右；
2.可适当添加细节；
3.开头已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Mike，
I am glad to know that you are coming to China with your parents and spend the Mid-Autumn Day here．
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Yours，
Li Hua．
Christmas had traditionally been a time for my parents to spoil us. In the past, the presents would
On Christmas morning, we
1. “世界睡眠日”的时间和目的；
2. 睡眠不良的危害；
3. 如何提高睡眠质量。
注意：1. 词数80左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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5 . In a recent study of 19-month-olds, University of Chicago doctoral student Lauren Howard found that children who heard various languages in their neighborhoods were more receptive to people who spoke languages other than their parents ‘language.
“We measured imitation. At this age, that’s how they show us their willingness to learn, ”explained Howard. The lead author of the report titled Neighborhood Linguistic Diversity Predicts Infants' Social Learning. The experiments tested how well the babies could learn new tasks from a non- English speaker.
The study, which included 82 children from the Chicago and Washington areas, was in the November issue of Cognition.
“Babies are not only affected by parents and caregivers--- previous studies proved that --but also by people they hear at the store or on the bus, "Howard said. “Incidental exposure matters.”
The study indicates that kids in diverse communities may grow up to have open minds. Good news for families living in such neighborhoods--- but can other families do something to increase children's cultural exposure？
Cultural diversity can be within reach, even in unlikely areas. Although she grew up in not very diverse"， Julie, 23， said she picked up much knowledge about other languages and cultures from the many students her family hosted through the AFS-USA international student exchange program.
“It’s the little differences that make you more understanding and less judgmental, ”Julie said “Yuilya from Kazakhstan, for example, was very disciplined because she couldn't go to college unless her grades were good. Matias from Paraguay wasn't used to being on time because his culture is more laid-back. ”
For families unable to host a student for a whole year, AFS-USA offers other volunteer opportunities, such as being “welcome families ”to ease students ’ transitions（过渡）.
But there are countless ways to expose kids to other countries, said Lucas, author of “Growing Up Global: Raising Children to Be at Home in the World.”
Just a few of her tips: Take the kids to foreign films. Try exotic restaurants. Put a world map on the wall. Help your children’s teachers make global classrooms. Encourage the kids to invite friends of other cultures for dinner. “They’ll thank you later, "Lucas said.
1. What does Howard stress by saying "Incidental exposure matters"？| A．Babies are also influenced by people outside their home |
| B．Parents fail to realize the importance of incidental learning |
| C．Parents and caregivers have more influence on babies |
| D．Babies learn little knowledge at the store or on the bus. |
| A．She frequently volunteered in some welcome families |
| B．She lived in neighborhoods with various language learn |
| C．She was a member of the AFS-USA program |
| D．She learned from the foreign students living in her home |
| A．Curious | B．Happy |
| C．Tolerant | D．anger |
| A．How to improve children’s behavior |
| B．How to teach children foreign languages |
| C．How to better communicate with children. |
| D．How to help children seek diversity |
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。
Hardly has the summer vacation begun when I returned to my native town. As the second-year senior student I had to get myself prepare for the college entrance examinations which were only a year away. Therefore in the morning I reviewed my lesson and read newspapers. In the afternoon, sometimes I went swimming on the river. Actual I like swimming and think nothing is refreshing than a swim. While it was hot in the afternoon, but a swim with friends would always make myself energetic. At night I always stayed at home, watched television with my family.I went to bed when the clock on the wall struck ten.
7 . Stay-at-home kids are named “generation nini” in Spain. They are those adults who still live at home and are neither working nor studying. But the problem is not limited to Spain. It is a worldwide problem.
In Italy, they are known as “bamboccioni” or big babies. There are nearly 60 percent of 18-34-year-old adults still living in their parents’ home, up from almost 50 percent since 1983. Once kept there by the love for their mama’s home-cooked food, the economic crisis(经济危机) has seen a rise in adults left unable to hold down a steady job or afford a home of their own. Last year, an Italian government minister admitted that his mother washed his clothes and made the bed for him until he was 30. He demanded a law forcing young Italians to leave their parents’ home at 18 to stop them becoming hopelessly dependent on their parents.
In the UK, the government has made the term NEETS—not in employment, education or training for these children. In England alone the percent of NEETS aged 19-24 surged to 18.8 percent of the age group-in the last quarter of 2010, up 1.4 percent on the same period a year before. The number of British men in their 20s living with their parents has risen from 59 percent to 80 percent in the past 15 years, while the number of women has risen from 41 percent to 50 percent. The average age of the first-time house buyers is now 38.
In the US, the problem is known as the “full nest syndrome(综合症)”. Adults there are left struggling to support adult children who have stayed at home with student debts and facing few job opportunities in a weak economy. A recent study showed almost a third of American adults aged 34 and under are living with their parents.
1. “Big babies” mentioned in Paragraph 2 refers to those adults who ________.| A．depend on their parents for a living | B．are not as smart as others |
| C．lose their job in the bad economy | D．are poorly educated |
| A．parents should make their children feel hopeless |
| B．parents should never make the bed for their children |
| C．young people should live on their own after 18 |
| D．it is OK for adult children to live with their parents |
| A．moved | B．reduced | C．recovered | D．jumped |
| A．America has the most adult children compared with other countries. |
| B．American parents are happy to live with their children. |
| C．Some American adult children are causing trouble for their parents. |
| D．It is a tradition for adult children to live with their parents in America. |
8 . 假定你是李华，你的新西兰朋友Terry将去中国朋友家做客，发邮件向你询问有关习俗。请你回复邮件。内容包括：
（1）到达时间；（2）合适的礼物；
（3）餐桌礼仪。
注意：
1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
9 . Britain's most popular lie has been disclosed, with one in four people admitting using “sorry I had no signal" when returning a missed mobile phone call, a survey found.
Researchers found the average Briton tells on average four lies every day or almost 1500 every year. Almost one in six men admitted they were most likely to lie to their wife or girlfriend, on average at least twice a day. The most popular lie was saying you had no mobile phone signal, with one in four people admitting regularly using the little white lie. It usually came after they hit the “ignore" button when their mobile rang.
Three quarters of people think women are better liars. The research found 46 per cent of girls have been caught lying, compared to 58 of men.
The second most common fib（无关紧要的谎言） is “I haven't got any cash on me” when asked for money by tramps (流浪者), beggars and Big Issue sellers. “Nothing's wrong – I'm fine” came third followed by “You look lovely” and “Nice to see you”.
Modern technology turned out to have contributed to many lies with “I didn't get your text” in 18th, “Our server was down” in 20th and “My battery died” in 26th place. Other lies to make the top ten included “I'll give you a ring”, “We're just good friends” and “We'll have to meet up soon”. “I'm on my way” and “No, your bum doesn't look big in that” completed the top ten.
Men tell the most fibs, coming out with five every day compared to women who lie just three times.
In many cases perhaps it is better to flatter with a fib than destroy someone with the truth, according to a spokesman for OnePoll, which carried out the research of 4,300 adults.
1. Whether the person being called has pushed the “ignore” button or ______, the caller at the other end hears the same tone.
| A．really has no signal | B．can’t get the text |
| C．has a battery failure | D．answers the call |
| A．there’re more women liars | B．fewer women liars are found out |
| C．women tell less harmful lies | D．women are harder to convince |
| A．3rd and 8th | B．5th and 10th |
| C．4th and 9th | D．5th and 12th |
| A．puzzling | B．unpleasant |
| C．impossible | D．reasonable |
10 . “Clean your plate!” Just about every kid in the US has heard this from a parent. Often, it is accompanied by an appeal: “Just think about those starving orphans in Africa!” Sure, we should be grateful for every bite of food. Unfortunately, many people in the US take too many bites. Instead of staying “clean the plate”, perhaps we should save some food for tomorrow.
According to news reports, US restaurants are partly to blame for the growing bellies. A waiter puts a plate of food in front of each customer, with two to four times the amount recommended by the government, according to a USA Today story. Americans traditionally associate quantity with value and most restaurants try to give them that. They prefer to have customers complain about too much food rather than too little.
Barbara Rolls, a nutrition professor at Pennsylvania State University, told USA Today that restaurant portion sizes began to grow in the 1970s, the same time that the American waistline began to expand.
Health experts have tried to get many restaurants to serve smaller portions. Now, apparently, some customers are calling for this too. The restaurant industry trade believed restaurants serve portions that are too large; 23 percent had no opinion; 20 percent disagreed. But a closer look at the survey indicates that many Americans who can’t afford fine dining still prefer large portions. 70 percent of those earning at least ＄150,000 per year prefer smaller portions; but only 45 percent of those earning less than＄25,000 want smaller.
It’s not that working class Americans don’t want to eat healthy. It’s just that, after long hours at low-paying jobs, getting less on their plate hardly seems like a good deal. They live from paycheck to paycheck, happy to save a little money for next year’s Christmas presents.
1. “Clean your plate!” in the first paragraph means ______ .| A．to wash the plate | B．not to eat too much |
| C．not to waste the food | D．to help the starving orphans |
| A．Americans are good at eating | B．Americans value the amount |
| C．the restaurants want people to keep healthy | D．the government recommends the amount |
| A．The government recommended serving small portion. |
| B．Americans began to realize the importance of health. |
| C．Health experts persuaded restaurants to serve large portion. |
| D．People in the United States began to gain weight. |
| A．Many poor Americans want large portions. |
| B．20 percent Americans want smaller portions. |
| C．70 percent Americans earn at least ＄150,000 per year. |
| D．45 percent Americans earn less than ＄25,000 per year. |
