1 . Simple ways to improve your written English
Many people think it is really difficult to improve (提高) their writing in English. Don’t worry, though. Here are some simple steps that you can take to improve your written English.
● Increase your vocabulary.
To express yourself clearly, you need a good active vocabulary. That’s not just being able to know lots of words — it means actually being able to use them correctly.
Tip: When you learn a new word, try to learn all the forms of that word.
●
People often say that we learn to write best by reading. Reading in English is useful in many ways. It is a great way to get an idea of the different styles of writing and see how to use words properly.
Tip:
● Improve your grammar.
Grammar is very important because it improves the quality (质量) of your writing.
Tip:
● Just do it!
The best way to improve your writing is to get a pen and paper and write. Be prepared to write several versions (版本) of each text.
| A．Know your readers. |
| B．Read widely and often. |
| C．Always check your writing twice. |
| D．Remember, practice makes perfect! |
| E．Choose books or articles that interest you. |
| F．Use simpler language and shorter sentences to show your ideas. |
| G．Do this by learning new words with example sentences, not just word lists. |
Mary waited anxiously for her turn in the empty dressing room. Never had she been so nervous before. This competition was of great importance to her comeback. “If I can win today,” she said to herself, “I can dance on the national stage next month.” Three months ago, her left arm was seriously injured in a car accident. After the medical treatment, she began to recover slowly. She practiced over and over again in order to regain her dancing skills.
“Hi, Mary,” in rushed her friend Jessica. “How is your arm? Is it going to influence your performance?”
“I guess it can be tolerated for I am to win the match.” said Mary with a determined look.
“Admirable! But I hear that a girl called Linda is really gifted and strong. She can be your real well-matched competitor. Come on!”
After Jessica left, Mary decided to practice her most difficult spin (旋转). “If I don’t try harder, I won’t grasp this chance.” She thought. But her arm began to hurt, making her worried. “Mary, what makes you think you have a chance tonight?” she said to herself. After the pain was gone, she continued to warm up.
A slim girl hurried in and put down an equipment bag on the chair. Then, she took out her dance dress quickly and put it on skillfully. Seeing Mary, she smiled politely and said “Hi, I’m Linda. I am the next one to you!” Mary nodded in reply but felt uncomfortable. “This is just my competitor. Because of her, I may lose tonight.” Her mind was wandering when Linda let out a scream, “Oh, God, I can’t find my music tape!” Linda searched her bag but in vain (徒劳). “It may be missing on the way.” With these words, she then rushed out.
注意：1.所续写短文的词数不少于80字；
2.续写部分为一段，请在答题卡相应的位置作答。
Paragraph 1
Suddenly, Mary caught sight of a black box under the chair where Linda put her bag.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
| A．to be breathed | B．to breathe |
| C．breathing | D．being breathed |
假定你是李华，计划组织一次郊游，请给你的英国朋友Chris写封邮件邀请他参加。内容包括：
1. 参加者；
2. 时间、地点；
3. 活动：登山、野餐等。
注意：1. 词数80左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5 . Ways Your Cell Phone Affects Your Body and Mind
First, some good news. Your phone can keep you safer. A study found that 137 more lives were saved per 100,000 patients when people called 911 from a mobile phone rather than from a fixed one.
Scanning your phone right before bed can cause sleep disorder. To avoid that, make a habit of not using your phone for at least 30 minutes before you close your eyes.
When you are awake, a single sound on your phone can signal the coming news. However, this can weaken your ability to focus on a task.
Memory suffers too.
It would be easy to avoid all these problems by simply putting down your phone. The problem: It isn’t so easy.
| A．But there are plenty of worries too. |
| B．Your phone can do damage to your eyes. |
| C．Silence your phone or simply put it away can help. |
| D．Walking with your face in your phone can be dangerous. |
| E．People may feel painful when separated from their phones. |
| F．Your hand may feel painful when you hold your phone too long. |
| G．Using a map and trying to remember it may be better for your brain. |
6 . Getting less sleep has become a bad habit for most American kids. According to a new survey(调查) by the National Sleep Foundation, 51% of kids aged 10 to 18 go to bed at 10 pm or later on school nights, even though they have to get up early. Last year the Foundation reported that nearly 60% of 7- to 12-year-olds said they felt tired during the day, and 15% said they had fallen asleep at school.
How much sleep you need depends a lot on your age. Babies need a lot of rest: most of them sleep about 18 hours a day! Adults need about eight hours. For most school-age children, ten hours is ideal(理想的). But the new National Sleep Foundation survey found that 35% of 10- to 12-year-olds get only seven or eight hours. And guess what almost half of the surveyed kids said they do before bedtime? Watch TV.
“More children are going to bed with TVs on, and there are more opportunities(机会) to stay awake, with more homework, the Internet and the phone,” says Dr. Mary Carskadon, a sleep researcher at Brown University Medical School. She says these activities at bedtime can get kids all excited and make it hard for them to calm down and sleep. Other experts say part of the problem is chemical. Changing levels of body chemicals called hormones not only make teenagers’ bodies develop adult characteristics, but also make it hard for teenagers to fall asleep before 11 pm.
Because sleepiness is such a problem for teenagers, some school districts have decided to start high school classes later than they used to. Three years ago, schools in Edina, Minnesota, changed the start time from 7:25 am to 8:30 am. Students, parents and teachers are pleased with the results.
1. What is the new National Sleep Foundation survey on?| A．American kids’ sleeping habits. | B．Teenagers’ sleep-related diseases. |
| C．Activities to prevent sleeplessness. | D．Learning problems and lack of sleep. |
| A．7 hours. | B．8 hours. |
| C．10 hours. | D．18 hours. |
| A．They are affected by certain body chemicals. |
| B．They tend to do things that excite them. |
| C．They follow their parents’ examples. |
| D．They don’t need to go to school early. |
| A．most of them | B．most of which | C．most of what | D．most of that |
8 . The jack fruit is a delicious fruit found throughout certain parts of Asia. But there is more to the fruit than just its taste. When considering the fruit’s English name, it is easy to become overwhelmed with questions like: “Who is Jack? And why does he have his own fruit?”
Surprisingly, “jack fruit” isn’t a person’s name at all. The fruit’s name originally comes from the southern Indian word chakka pazham, with India thought to be the fruit’s place of origin. Portuguese explorers who journeyed to this region went on to call it jack, which leads us to the current English name of jack fruit, according to National Public Radio(NPR). Unfortunately, no one called Jack has been proven to be involved at any point in this process.
There is another food, however, that was directly named after a person—the sandwich. In the 18th century, playing card games late into the night became fashionable in British high society. John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, started the habit of ordering pieces of cold beef between two pieces of bread in order to get a late-night snack without having to leave the gaming table or use a knife and fork.
This newly-created snack kept hands clean so card players could continue on without dirtying their cards. The midnight snack quickly became popular among everyday people, and before long everyone was making their own sandwiches. That is how the sandwich was invented and got its name.
Away from the world of food, there are more examples of names inspired by people. Long johns, the warm trousers that keep us warm in winter, are said to have been named after the US boxer John L. Sullivan who took to wearing a similar type of garment in the ring (比赛).
There are many other interesting etymologies(词源) in the English language like these. So the next time you find an interesting name, why not explore its history too?
1. What does the underlined word “overwhelmed” in the first paragraph probably mean?| A．Puzzled. | B．Excited. | C．Worried. | D．Annoyed. |
| A．A place in India. | B．An Indian word. |
| C．A Portuguese explorer. | D．A discoverer of the fruit. |
| A．It was named after a popular card game. |
| B．It was once eaten as a snack in the daytime. |
| C．It was first popular among the UK’s middle class. |
| D．It was created for the convenience of playing cards. |
| A．To raise readers’ interest in etymology. | B．To introduce things named after people. |
| C．To stress the importance of learning history. | D．To explain the effects of people’s names on food. |
Yoga(瑜伽) is
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