1 . Art is everywhere. Any public space has been carefully designed by an artistic mind to be both functional and beautiful. Why, then, is art still so widely considered to be "the easy subject" at school, insignificant to wider society, a waste of time and effort?
Art can connect culture with commercial products in a way that not many other things can; art generates money and holds significant emotional and cultural value within communities. When people attend a concert, they are paying for music, sure, maybe even hotel rooms, meals, and transport, but they also gain an incredible experience, a unique atmosphere and a memory that will go through the rest of their lives. People don't just want material things anymore, they want to experience life一the arts are a perfect crossover(交迭)between culture and commerce.
Furthermore, the arts can bring communities together, reducing loneliness and making people feel safer. Social bonds are created among individuals when they share their arts experiences through reflection and discussion, and their expression of common values through artworks in honour of events significant to a nation's experience.
The arts clearly have a pretty positive impact on physical and psychological health. It is found that people who frequent cultural places or participate in artistic events are more likely to gain good health compared to those who do not; more engagement with the arts is linked to a higher level of people's wellbeing. The Royal Society of Public Health discovered that music and art, when used in hospitals, help to improve the conditions of patients by reducing stress, anxiety and blood pressure.
Children who are involved with the arts make greater achievements in their education: those engaged with drama have greater literary ability while others taking part in musical practice exhibit greater skills in math and languages. Kids with preference for the arts have a greater chance of finding employment in the future. Participating in the arts is essential for child development; encouraging children to express themselves in constructive ways could help to form healthy emotional responses in later life.
Vital to human life, art is celebrated and used by nations across the world for various purposes. Life without art would be boring and dead still, for art is a part of what makes us human.
1. Art products differ from most other commercial products because .A.most people purchase them for collection |
B.they are more expensive and less accessible |
C.they have both commercial and cultural values |
D.their prices may climb up as time passes |
A.keep the community safe from illnesses |
B.develop a stronger tie between them |
C.learn to appreciate their own works of art |
D.offer honourable solutions to their problems |
A.They enjoy better living conditions. |
B.They like to compare themselves with others. |
C.They are particularly good at both music and art. |
D.They tend to be healthier physically and mentally. |
A.It promotes their academic performance and emotional growth. |
B.It gives them more confidence in exhibiting their learning skills. |
C.It inspires their creativity in designing their future career. |
D.It helps to make responsible people out of them. |
A.How Art Cures Our Hearts |
B.Art: A Blessing to Humankind |
C.How Art Benefits Communities |
D.Art: A Bridge Between Cultures |
2 . My brother and I are exactly one year apart. We look like twins, but we are completely
I didn't
At the start of the semester, I practised “Circle of Life" for a musical. This was the first time I
After two days of this, my brother asked me to
A.mature | B.different | C.content | D.normal |
A.disliked | B.preferred | C.replaced | D.abandoned |
A.writer | B.leader | C.painter | D.performer |
A.get along | B.drop by | C.show off | D.check in |
A.try | B.mind | C.enjoy | D.delay |
A.In particular | B.In vain | C.In return | D.In theory |
A.humorous | B.ordinary | C.competitive | D.grateful |
A.above | B.below | C.near | D.without |
A.issue | B.contrast | C.agreement | D.balance |
A.struggled | B.expected | C.promised | D.decided |
A.began | B.allowed | C.stopped | D.continued |
A.hated | B.experienced | C.accepted | D.wanted |
A.help | B.invite | C.join | D.admire |
A.gracefully | B.suddenly | C.fiercely | D.cautiously |
A.limit | B.sentence | C.mistake | D.philosophy |
A.rude | B.angry | C.surprised | D.excited |
A.lose | B.share | C.reduce | D.maintain |
A.wrong | B.right | C.back | D.down |
A.luck | B.absence | C.effort | D.fear |
A.fight | B.noise | C.quiet | D.safety |
A.system | B.method | C.investment | D.environment |
Recent research suggests that if an argument gets resolved,the emotional response tied to it is significantly reduced or almost completely erased.Thus,it may be worth bringing up issues with your friends, family members,or classmates rather than holding them back.
There is a difference between arguing and fighting.Arguing is that you and your opponent present your concerns and discuss the feelings and issues related to those concerns.You can engage in an argument respectfully without stirring up(激起) anger.Fighting,however,usually involves personal attacks,raising of voices, and storming out.Discussing your issues and resolving them instead of stuffing them down can improve your emotional health.In a study,2.000 people were asked to record their feelings and experiences for eight days in a row.When people had an argument that they considered resolved, they had half the reactivity (情绪反应) of those who avoided an argument.Reactivity is an increase in negative emotions or a decrease in positive emotions.In other words,resolving an argument cuts your negative feelings by half.One day later, people who had a resolved argument reported no increase of negative emotions compared with those who avoided an argument. This means that resolving an argument can feel like you have reached a state of resolution——and you are less likely to be annoyed.
Moreover,the older you are,the more likely you will come to a resolution after an argument.This may be because more life experience usually leads to more defined priorities.You are more likely to distinguish between what matters and what does not.
It is easier to avoid a discussion,but risking talking about it may eventually lead to a better outcome.
1. According to this passage,what is arguing?2. Why is it that“the older you are, the more likely you will come to a resolution after an argument”?
3. Please decide which part is false in the following statement,then underline it and explain why.
Resolving arguments can improve your emotional health,because it increases your reactivity and reduces the chance of you getting angry.
4. In addition to improving emotional health,what do you think are some other benefits of resolving an argument? (In about 40 words)
5 . Recently,I took a trip home by train.I got a seat opposite a middle-aged man with sharp eyes,who kept
As the night wore on,people began to close their eyes,but the seats were so uncomfortable that only a very heavy sleeper could manage to get any
The train moved on.The little boy was
The
A.guiding | B.bothering | C.watching | D.monitoring |
A.adjusted | B.changed | C.packed | D.waved |
A.air | B.joy | C.space | D.rest |
A.nervous | B.embarrassed | C.angry | D.disappointed |
A.almost | B.still | C.hardly | D.even |
A.drag | B.climb | C.knock | D.push |
A.grabbed | B.rocked | C.touched | D.picked |
A.alarm | B.quarrel | C.risk | D.noise |
A.sorrow | B.relief | C.panic | D.pain |
A.astonished | B.confused | C.concerned | D.inspired |
My dad, George, only had an eighth grade education. A quiet man, he didn’t understand my world of school activities. From age 14, he worked. And his dad, Albert, took the money my dad earned and used it to pay family expenses.
I didn’t really understand his world either: He was a livestock trucker, and I thought that I would surpass (超过) anything he had accomplished by the time I walked across the stage at high school graduation.
Summers in the mid-70s were spent at home shooting baskets, hitting a baseball, or throwing a football, preparing for my future as a quarterback on a football team. In poor weather, I read about sports or practiced my trombone (长号).
The summer before my eighth grade I was one of a group of boys that a neighboring farmer hired to work in his field. He explained our basic task, the tractor fired up and we were off, riding down the field looking for weeds to spray with chemicals. After a short way, the farmer stopped and pointed at a weed which we missed. Then we began again. This happened over and over, but we soon learned to identify different grasses like cockleburs, lamb’s-quarters, foxtails, and the king of weeds, the pretty purple thistle. It was tiring work, but I looked forward to the pay, even though I wasn’t sure how much it would amount to.
At home, my dad said, “A job’s a big step to growing up. I’m glad you will be contributing to the household.” My dad’s words made me realize that my earnings might not be mine to do with as I wished.
My labors lasted about two weeks, and the farmer said there might be more work, but I wasn’t interested. I decided it was not fair that I had to contribute my money.
注意:
1.所续写短文的词数应为150左右;
2.至少使用5个短文中标有下划线的关键词语;
3.续写部分分为两段,每段的开头语已为你写好;
4.续写完成后,请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1:The pay arrived at last.
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Paragraph 2:I understood immediately what my parents were worried about.
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It doesn’t impress like George Washington’s plantation on the Potomac, but Lincoln’s home in downtown Springfield, Illinois,
When the house was built, it was much
Although Mary loved flowers,
8 . You’ve got mail…and it’s a postcard
Paulo Magalhaes, a 34-year-old Portuguese computer engineer, loves to open his mailbox and find a brightly colored picture of Rome’s Colosseum. Or Africa’s Victoria Falls. Or China’s Great Wall.
“I often send postcards to family and friends.” he says to China Daily, “but you can imagine that after a while, you never receive as many as you send, and you realize that not everyone is into it.
Today his hobby has developed into the website postcrossing.com, a social network that has grown to 575,217 registered users in 214 countries and regions since he started it 10 years ago.
Language is certainly a barrier for many people. For postcrossing to work worldwide, a common communication language is needed so that everyone can understand each other. As cool as it may be to receive a postcard written in Chinese, the concept doesn’t work if one doesn’t understand it.
“Many people in China have limited exposure to English.
A.And that’s totally fine. |
B.That makes it extra hard to learn and practice it. |
C.He likes to think of sending postcards as a family-friendly hobby. |
D.Many love to make a connection with someone from across the world. |
E.On August 5, the number of postcards exchanged by members topped 31 million. |
F.Similarly, if you speak only Chinese, receiving a card in Swedish takes part of the fun away. |
G.In short, he loves postcards, and the excitement of getting a hand-written note from someone far away. |
The Xi’an City Wall is the most complete city wall that has survived China’s long history. It
We accessed the wall through the South Gate. The wall is 12 meters high and from here you can see streams of people moving inside and outside the City Wall.
After
We
A.At a canteen. | B.At a clinic. | C.At a bank. |