1 . How to Be Creative

Most of us think that creativity is a quality (品质) belonging only to artists, writers, or dancers, rather than ourselves.     1     The following tips are a great beginning for developing our creativity.

Get out of your comfort zone

We eagerly accept the familiar and fear the unknown. Break out of your usual patterns and welcome creativity into your life. As said earlier, the human brain was designed to recognize patterns.     2     In fact, our comfort zone is nothing more than a collection of patterns. As we become more efficient at recognizing and using patterns, we rely less on creativity to find new paths. We should force ourselves out of our comfort zones and open up new possibilities.

Try different things

If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got. We are creatures of habits and routines, and creativity hates routines (常规). If you usually drive to work, take the subway for a few days.     3       Break your routine, experiment and try something new. New things are often creative, but the same old thing never is.

    4    

Having a great idea is not enough, you must work to make it a reality. Have you ever seen a new product and realized that you thought of the same thing long ago? Yet someone else is making money with “your” idea.     5     The difference between a dreamer and a doer is action. Do whatever it takes to bring your ideas to life. If you can put them into practice, you are well on your way to improving your creativity in all areas of your life.

A．Take action

B．Seek several options

C．Think from the other person’s point of view.

D．If you normally eat in the office, have lunch under a tree.

E．We continue to create patterns for almost everything we do.

F．The truth is that we are all born with the ability to be creative.

G．We all have great ideas sometimes, but only a few people turn their ideas into realities.

2 . Only when ________ in the afternoon ________ able to leave.

A．the match was over; they were	B．the match was over; were they
C．was the match over; were they	D．was the match over; they were

3 . 阅读下面材料, 在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。

Earth Day is an event    1    (annual) celebrated on April 22.     2    (found) by Senator Gaylord Nelson, an American politician and environmentalist, it was originally aimed at helping the public to know the current situation of air and water pollution and    3     (get) people to care about the earth.

In1962, Rachel Carson’s bestselling book “Silent Spring” created an    4    (aware) of the dangerous effects of pesticides (农药) . Then, a fire,     5     broke out in 1969 on Cleveland’s Guyahoga River, shed light on the problem of chemical pollution in water. Senator Gaylord Nelson dreamed of    6    similar large event that would get people to take environmental issues seriously. In 1969, he was inspired by protests against the Vietnam War and came up with the idea for Earth Day.

In the fall of 1969, Nelson announced it and appealed to the entire country to get involved. Consequently, telegrams, letters and telephone calls    7    all over the country poured in. Since 1970, Earth Day celebration have grown. Later, Nelson    8    (award) the Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of his work.

Today, Earth Day is celebrated around the world every April 22. Sometimes numerous communities celebrate Earth Week, an entire week of    9    (activity) focused on the Environmental issues. In 2017, the March for Science    10    (occur) on Earth Day(April 22, 2017) and was followed by the People’s Climate Mobilization (April 29, 2017).

5 . How to calm your teen

A major source of teen stress is school exams, and test anxiety is not uncommon. When you recognize your teen is under stress, how can you help your teen stay calm before an exam?

Be involved. Parents need to be involved in their teen’s study.     1     What he looks for is your presence — to talk, to cry, or simply to sit with him quietly. Communicate openly with your teen. Encourage your teen to express his worries and fears, but don’t let him focus on those fears.

Help him get organized.     2     Together, you and your teen can work out a timetable in which he can study for what he knows will be on the test.

Provide a calm setting. Help your teen set up a quiet place to study and protect his privacy.

Give him a nutritious diet. It’s important for your teen to eat a healthy, balanced diet during exam time to focus and do his best.     3     If this happens, encourage your teen to eat light meals or sandwiches. A healthy diet, rather than junk food, is best for reducing stress.

    4     Persuade your teen to get some sleep or do something active when he needs a real break from studying. Making time for relaxation, fun, and exercise is important in reducing stress. Help your teen balance his time so that he will feel comfortable taking time out from studying to spend time with friends or rest.

Show a positive attitude.     5     Your panic, anxiety and blame contribute to your teen’s pressure. Make your teen feel accepted and valued for his efforts. Most importantly, reassure (使安心) your teen that things will be all right, no matter what the results are.

A．Encourage your teen to relax.

B．The best thing is simply to listen.

C．They will only make the situation worse.

D．Parents’ attitude will influence their teen’s emotions.

E．Exam stress can make some teens have no desire for food.

F．Your teen may also make negative comments about himself.

G．Help your teen think about what he has to study and plan accordingly.

7 . The key to losing weight is to understand what really motivates you. Have you ever been excited about losing a few pounds?     1     And to help you keep your weight under control, you need some coping strategies.

Ask questions. When you’re researching different dieting products and plans or even talking to a doctor about diets, ask as many questions as you can.     2     Ask questions like: Do I have to purchase special meals or supplements? Does the programme include a part to help me maintain my weight loss?

Get real.     3     Don’t burden yourself with unrealistic expectations. Remember, large amounts of weight loss are not realistic and are most likely not safe or healthy. Talk with your health care professional to determine a healthy weight goal.

    4     To maintain your weight, you must keep a balance between your intake of calories and the energy you burn. Just 30 minutes of fast walking in most days can take about 10 pounds off your weight each year.

Weigh yourself weekly. It’s important to track your weight on any diet or weight loss plan, but don’t step on the scales every day. Weighing daily won’t show you the big picture.     5    

A．Stay balanced.

B．Once a week is fine.

C．Stick with your healthy eating plan.

D．Losing one to two pounds a week is a realistic goal.

E．Being well-informed will help you choose the best diet for yourself.

F．Regular weight checks will show you your progress over time.

G．If so, you must find a way to turn excitement into determination.

8 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写一段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

A few years ago, the company I worked for sent my wife and me to live in New York for a year. I’ve always loved running, so I was really happy when I found out I lived next to Central Park. This meant that every morning I could go for a run before I went to work.

Because a lot of people had told me to be careful of robbers in the park, so usually I didn’t take anything with me. How could they rob me if I didn’t have anything? But one morning, my wife gave me a S 10 bill and asked me to buy some bread on the way.

It was a beautiful morning and the park was quiet with very few people walking or jogging (慢跑) around. While I was running through the park, another jogger knocked into me. He apologized and continued running. For a while, I didn’t think too much of it. However, when I noticed the wide path where I was running, I thought was kind of strange. The warning of robbers in the park occurred to me. ”It could have been a robber!” I suddenly became alarmed, so I checked my pocket and found that the money was missing. Without thinking twice, I ran after that jogger. I finally caught up and held him by the arm. I shouted, “Give me the $10 bill! Now!” I am not usually a hot-headed (性急的) person, but I got really angry this time. I couldn’t believe the robbery was actually happening to me. Filled with anger, I shook my fist at him. This seemed to frighten him. He quickly put his hand in his pocket and gave me the money. Then he ran away as fast as he could.

I bought the bread and went home. As soon as I got home, I couldn’t wait to tell my wife my story. “You won’t believe what happened to me,” I started with pride. She immediately stopped me, “I know, you left the money for the bread on the kitchen table.”

注意：
1. 所续写短文的词数应为80左右；
2. 请按如下格式在相应位置作答。

Looking at the money on the table, I stood there, shocked.

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9 . Losing weight comes with a lot of health benefits-including making your brain sharper.

Yes, it turns out that overweight may damage cognitive functions such as memory and attention. There have been few studies of overweight and cognitive functioning, possibly because it is generally believed that it is not a primary risk cause for poor cognitive performance. Losing weight, therefore, may help improve these mental functions, according to a new research led by John Gunstad, assistant professor of psychology at Kent State University.

Growing evidence suggests that being fat is linked to cognitive deficits (缺陷). So Gunstad and his team guessed that losing weight might improve mental function. For their study, they measured memory and attention in a group of 150 overweight participants, some of whom had some kind of operation for weight loss and some did not. All of the volunteers completed mental skills tests to assess their abilities of memory and attention at the beginning of the study, and again 12 weeks later. To begin with, about 24% of the patients showed damaged learning and 23% showed signs of poor memory when tested. At the end of the study, those who had lost weight after operation improved their scores into the average or above average range for cognitive functions. Scores for the volunteers who didn’t lose weight dropped even further.

The study helped Gunstad to find out whether losing weight had any effect on mental function. Now that he’s seen the positive effect that weight loss can have on memory and attention, he says he will next study those who choose to lose weight by the traditional way—eating healthier and getting more active. He expects that losing weight in this way will have a similarly positive effect on the brain. “If we can improve the condition with operations, then we can probably produce the same change with behavioral weight loss as well,” he says.

1. There is less research on overweight and cognitive functions because researchers _____.

A．believe overweight only affects our body

B．have focused on ways to sharpen people’s mind

C．do not consider overweight a main cause for low cognitive ability

D．are clear about the relation between weight and mental functions

2. The result of Gunstad’s study shows that ______.

A．losing weight has little effect on people’s memory

B．losing weight can improve people’s mental functions

C．overweight people are likely to have psychology problems

D．overweight people’s abilities of concentration differ greatly

3. What is Gunstad planning to prove next in his research?

A．Slim people are smarter than overweight people.

B．Healthy diet is better than exercise in losing weight.

C．Traditional ways of losing weight are better than operation.

D．Overweight people will get smarter by taking more exercise.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the text?

A．Body Weight and Health	B．Losing Weight by Operation
C．Ways to Improve Mental Functions	D．Losing Weight to Sharpen Your Mind

10 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。

I can well remember that I was once asked to deliver a speech titled “A Real Test in My Life” before the whole class at the age of 9! You can imagine how     1     (terrible) shy I was with so many eyes       2       (fix) upon me. I had no     3     (choose) but to prepare for it, though. First of all, I was to draft the speech, which was just a piece of cake for me, a good writer. But the hardest part     4     (lie) in my oral presentation from my memory— for to read from the paper was not allowed. The real moment began     5         I stood on the platform with my legs trembling and my mind blank. But my listeners were waiting patiently without any signs of rushing me. Gradually I found myself back,     6     (deliver) my speech with difficulty. After what seemed to be a hundred years, I found my audience applauding— I made     7    ! From then on, my fear of talking before an audience disappeared. Actually with my     8     (confident) building up, I now turn out to be a great speaker. Looking back, I know the greatest difficulty on our way         9     success is our fear. Overcome it     10     we will be able to achieve our goals.