1.活动的时间和内容
2.活动的意义
3.你的希望
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
It is with a very heavy heart that we are sharing the news of the passing of Dr. Alfonso (Rick) Radcliffe, who celebrated his 92nd birthday in October. He died
Rick was born in St. Louis, 1928. He
1.说明比赛要求（诗歌长度，内容等）；
2.请他推荐英文诗歌；
3.请教朗诵技巧。
参考词汇：英文诗歌朗诵比赛 （an English Poem Recitation Competition）
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4 . To figure out if we can die of boredom, we first have to understand what boredom is. For help, I called James Danckert, a psychologist who studies boredom at the University of Waterloo in Canada. “A lot of people think about being bored as being lazy. And it’s absolutely not that,” he says. “Bored people want to be engaged with their world, eager to do something satisfying and exciting. But any attempt to do so is failing.”
That means boredom is usually very upsetting. And it can have physical consequences. In one of his experiments, Danckert made people extremely bored by showing them a video of two people hanging clothes to dry. He found that when people got bored, their hearts beat faster and their levels of a hormone called cortisol (皮质醇) went up, compared to when they watched another video that made them sad. These physical changes were signs that boredom was stressing them out. “It’s not like having a full-on panic attack,”Danckert says. But it’s certainly enough to make boredom unpleasant.
Let’s come back to if boredom can kill you. Back in the 1980s, scientists asked people who worked for the British government a whole bunch of questions, including how bored they felt in their daily lives. The study tracked the participants over time. When any one of them died, the survey recorded the cause of death. In 2010, two researchers matched up these causes of death with the participants’ level of boredom. It turned out that people who said they were more bored were also more likely to have died of heart disease. “We know that prolonged exposure to stress is bad for your health,” Danckert says. A single boring day can’t kill you. But if you’re always bored, the stress could add up into something dangerous.
“Oh no,” you might be thinking. “School is boring, my friends are boring, everything is boring! What’s going to happen to me?” Don’t worry, Danckert says, “As you get older, you get less bored,” mainly because you gain more independence and have to get busy to achieve your long-term goals. And trust me: that’s anything but boring.
1. According to James Danckert, people feel bored because ______.| A．they are too lazy to do anything | B．they can’t fully understand boredom |
| C．they are too frightened to have a try | D．they can’t gain excitement in life |
| A．Doing housework will make people bored. |
| B．Physical changes can lead to extreme boredom. |
| C．People’s heart rate increases with boredom. |
| D．Watching something sad is a boring experience. |
| A．Continued. | B．Short. | C．Sudden. | D．Active. |
| A．Depending on friends. | B．Setting long-term goals. |
| C．Keeping yourself occupied. | D．Trusting people around you. |
A Great Monday
Monday started out well. I woke up on time, ate breakfast and did some last minute studying for my math test later that morning. I was confident of getting good grades. I left my house and ten minutes later, I sat with my friends on the school bus. We were busy chatting about how we spent our weekend. At the next stop, a student named Ryan got on the bus. He was in a rush and tripped (绊倒) over someone’s foot. There was a loud noise as he fell to the floor.
Every one of us on the bus laughed. Ryan got up, brushed his jacket and went to an empty seat. He tried to laugh with us, but his face was red with embarrassment. The rest of the morning went by quickly. I did well in my math test. I read two more chapters of To Kill a Mockingbird in English class. Soon we heard the lunch bell. I met my friends from the cheerleading team in the dining hall. I noticed Ryan a few tables away, sitting by himself. He caught me looking at him. I smiled at him quickly and looked away.
When we finished eating, we went to the courtyard to practice a cheer we would do at that night’s football game. After much practice, we finally managed to do the cheer perfectly. We decided to practice it again one last time. Just like the rest of my day so far, the cheer was going great. I raised my leg for one last toe touch. That was when I felt my jeans (牛仔裤) split (裂开) down the middle of my backside.
I froze. I had no idea what to do. I heard people burst out laughing and I saw them pointing at my torn jeans. I tried to cover myself with my hands, I tried to laugh too, but I felt tears begin to well up in my eyes.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式作答。
Then I saw Ryan running towards me.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________That night, after the cheer at the football game, I found Ryan.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________6 . Nine out of 10 American adults have unhealthy metabolisms (新陈代谢) mostly because of the food they eat. Experts say it might be time for the government to regulate what Americans put in their mouths.
Dariush Mozaffarian, a heart doctor at Tufts University in Massachusetts worries people who are in poor metabolic health are at increased risk of getting heart disease and other serious health problems. “When you have nine out of 10 adults being metabolically unhealthy, largely due to diet-related illnesses, you know we have a broken system,” Mozaffarian said.
A big part of the problem is that Americans eat a lot of junk foods. Junk foods are processed foods like sweets or potato chips that provide little nutritional (营养的) value but are high in fat, salt and sugar. Junk foods are hard to resist because they contain things the body wants and needs. Linda Bartoshuk, a professor of food science at the University of Florida believes the problem is that the body has a hard time knowing when to stop wanting them. “We take in too much salt, sugar and fat, which produces all kinds of illnesses,” Bartoshuk said.
Mozaffarian is among health experts who are calling for more policies to help Americans eat healthier foods. He would like to see the government improve nutrition in existing foor programs, like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Meals on Wheels SNAP provides economic aid to poor families to buy food, and Meals on Wheels delivers meals to older Americans
Mozaffarian also thinks food nutrition should be included in the health care system. There could be more nutritional education for health care workers, and students in medical school. While Mozaffarian believes nutritional education would be effective, changing Americans diet is more important. “We need to fix the food so that parents and kids who are busy and out wanting to enjoy their lives can get nutritious, affordable food,” he said.
1. What does Mozaffarian think is the main reason for more serious health problems?| A．The government system. | B．The quantity of food. |
| C．The poor metabolisms. | D．The unhealthy diet. |
| A．They have addictive qualities. |
| B．They are full of taste and nutrition. |
| C．They can be purchased conveniently. |
| D．They are affordable for most consumers. |
| A．Senior citizens. | B．Poor families. |
| C．School children | D．Patients with heart disease. |
| A．The nutritional education is still far from satisfactory |
| B．Parents with kids are too busy to cook nutritious food. |
| C．Changing American people’s eating habits does matter. |
| D．More measures should be taken to guarantee food safety |
Private Property — Keep Out!
I absolutely love my little brother and sister, Tex and Indi but sometimes I feel extremely annoyed when they don’t respect my stuff.
One afternoon, I overheard Indi and her friend Kate talking about a necklace. “Ooh! Where did you get that cool necklace?” Kate asked Indi.
“I just found it,” replied Indi.
“I love the flower in the middle of the heart!” said Kate admiringly.
“Yeah,” said Indi. “It’s my new favorite thing in the world!”.
It was my necklace! Unable to bottle up my annoyance, I went straight over to them
“Excuse me, Indi,” I said. “Where did you find that necklace?”
“Right there on the floor,” Indi answered, pointing to a spot just outside my bedroom.
“So you found a necklace right outside my bedroom and didn’t think it might be mine?” I stared into her eyes and asked in a louder voice.
Indi shrugged.
“Well, your favorite new thing happens to be my favorite old thing, and I’d like it back Please, please, please just leave my stuff alone once and for all!” I told her.
I must have sounded pretty angry because I found Indi’s eyes filled with tears. She unwillingly took off the necklace and threw it into my hand.
“Here you go,” she sniffled (抽鼻子) and went off to the backyard with Kate.
And that was that. I decided to try to change my sour mood by taking out the handicraft (工艺) box from the cupboard in the living room. I found craft sticks and seashells for a picture frame (相框), put on some music, and got down to working.
As I carefully glued on the shells. I remembered how Indi and I had found them together at the beach. How close and happy we were at that time! That’s when I decided to make the frame for Indi to apologize for overreacting. It was a task requiring time and patience. So by the time was finished. I felt definitely satisfied and even pictured Indi’s smiling face when I gave her the frame. As I felt starving, I went to the kitchen to grab a snack, leaving the glue to dry.
注意：
续写词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
When I returned, I found Tex busily building something with the craft sticks.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Late that afternoon, Mom knocked at my door and asked me to go downstairs for a family meeting.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
8 . The protected lands of the Nationa! Parks are some of the most amazing destinations within the United States to have holidays. Here are some of the best.
Mesa Verde National Park
This park celebrates the history of the Pueblo people in southwestem United States. Visitors will find over 4, 000 historical sites here, including 600 cliffdwellings (悬崖屋). Some of the best cliff dwellings, such as CliffPalace and Balcony Houserequire the tickets for guided tours. These cliff dwellings present a great opportunity for visitors to learn about the history of the region. Besides, adults and children can enjoy hikes, which end in eliffdwelling overlooks.
Rocky Mountain National Park
It’s a super introduction to the beautiful Rocky Mountains. During the summer months when the weather is at its best, it allows visitors to experience all of the nature and wildlife of the area. The park has plenty of paths that take hikers into the backcountry of the Rocky Mountains while children will love the guided horseback tours
Sequoia (红杉) &Kings Canyon (峡谷) National Park
If you are looking for a wide range of California’s natural sights all in one area, this park is a great option. It varies from deep canyons to tall mountains. Here you can visit the largest fore of scquoias in the world. There are excellent recreational activities for the whole family including hiking, camping, swimming and cave exploration.
Yosemite National Park
It’s recreational enthusiasts’ favorite, especially rock elimbers. Climbers travel from around the world to take on the challenges presented at Yosemite. For those visitors looking for different recreational activities or family activities, Yosemite has many programs covering variety of natural sciences and other topics.
1. What is the feature of the Mesa Verde National Park?| A．It is home to a wealth of wildlife. |
| B．It shows the history of the natives. |
| C．It has amazing mountainous landscape. |
| D．It is a base for natural science education |
| A．Yosemite National Park. |
| B．Mesa Verde National Park |
| C．Rocky Mountain National Park. |
| D．Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park. |
| A．Adventurous. | B．Cost-effective. | C．Family-friendly. | D．Tiring |
9 . A method to transform a commonly thrown-away plastic to a resin (树脂) used in 3D- printing could allow for making better use of plastic waste.
A team of Washington State University researchers developed a simple and efficient way to transform polylactic acid(PLA), a bio-based plastic used in products such as plastic tableware and food packing to a high-quality resin. Yu-Chung Chang, a postdoctoral researcher on the work said they made stronger materials just straight out of waste, and they hoped that would provide people with the stimulation to upcycle this stuff instead of just throwing it away.
PLA is rarely recycled because like most plastics, when it’s melted down and reformed, it doesn’t perform as well as the original version and becomes less valuable.
“But once you look into it, it turns out that it can take up to 100 years for it to break down in a landfill,” Chang said. “In reality, it still creates a lot of pollution. We want to make sure that when we start producing PLA millions of tons, we will know how to deal with it. ”
In their study, the researchers developed a fast method to recycle PLA breaking the long chain of molecules (分子) down into simple monomers (单体)-the building blocks for many plastics. The entire chemical process can be done at mild temperatures in about two days. The chemical they used to break down PLA, aminoethanol, is also inexpensive.
“If you want to rebuild a Lego castle into a car, you have to take it apart brick by brick, Chang said. “That’s what we did.” Once PLA was broken down to its basic building blocks, the researchers rebuilt the plastic and created a type of liquid resin that is commonly used as printing “ink” for 3D printers. When used in a 3D printer and cured into plastic pieces the product was equal or better than commercially available resins.
The researchers have applied for a temporary patent and are working to further improve the process. They are also looking into other applications for the upncycling method.
1. What’s the main purpose of the researchers work?| A．To expand the use of 3D printing | B．To make better use of plastic waste. |
| C．To call on people not to throw away plastic. | D．To show off their high-technology methods. |
| A．The high-quality resin. | B．Polylactic acid. |
| C．The upcycling method. | D．Plastic food packing |
| A．To illustrate the process of remodeling | B．To explain how to deal with Lego bricks |
| C．To show the difficulties of their research. | D．To offer a model for the better improvement |
| A．The Inexpensive Chemical Used to Break Down the PLA |
| B．Newly-developed 3D Printer for More Plastic Applications |
| C．New Way Found to Turn Plastic Waste Into Valuable Products |
| D．The Upcoming Age of New Plastic Without Pollution to the Environment |
1.活动方式；
2.活动内容；
3.学生的反应。
注意：
1.写作词数应为80左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Free Talk in Our English Class
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
