1 . American high school students are terrible writers, and one education reform group thinks it has an answer: robots. Or, more accurately, robot­readers — computers programmed to scan students’ essays and spit out a grade.

Mark Shermis, professor of the College of Education at the University of Akron, is helping to hold a contest, set up by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation (WFHF), which promises $ 100, 000 in prize money to programmers who write the best automated (自动的) grading software. “If you’re a high school teacher and you give a writing task, you’re walking home with 150 essays” Shermis said. “You’re going to need some help.”

Automated essay grading was first proposed in the 1960s, but computers back then were not up to the task. In the late 1990s, as technology improved, several textbooks and testing companies jumped into the field. Today, computers are used to grade essays on South Dakota’s student writing assessments (评价) and a handful of other exams, including the TOEFL test of English fluency, taken by foreign students.

The Hewlett contest aims to show that computers can grade as well as English teachers — only much more quickly and without all that depressing red ink. “Automated essay scoring is objective,” Shermis said. “And it can be done immediately. If students finish an essay at 10 pm, they will get a result at 10:01 pm.”

Take, for instance, the Intelligent Essay Assessor, a web­based tool marketed by Pearson Education, Inc. Within seconds, it can analyze an essay for spelling, grammar, organization, and help students to make revisions. The program scans for key words and analyzes semantic (语义的) patterns, and Pearson claims that it can understand the meaning of text much the same as a human reader.

3 . Sam was very nervous. It was his first day in new _________, and lunch was only thirty minutes away. For most students, lunch is the _________ part of the school day. It is time when you talk with your friends, get to know what interesting things everyone is doing, and, of course, _________. Sam, however, didn’t know anyone or anything, like where to sit or with whom to sit at lunch.

Sam’s _________ was in the army, so his family moved a lot. He had really liked his old school and _________ leaving his two best friends. They still talked to each other through phone calls and emails, _________ he couldn’t see them every day. He wondered if their _________ would continue. He didn’t want to lose them, but he knew it would be _________ for them to stay close.

“I know this is hard on you,” his mother said as he got ready for school this morning, “and I’m really _________ you have to keep changing schools.” Sam could see __________ in her eyes, but he didn’t want her to feel that way. He gave her a smile and told her not to __________. Even if he was still worried, he decided to do something to fit in with the new school.

The __________ time came quickly. As Sam was walking to the dining room, a voice behind him said, “Excuse me.” Sam __________ and saw five friendly faces.

“Would you like to join us?” asked one of them.

This __________ invitation was exactly what he needed. Sam nodded yes __________ and joined them. He was sure about his future school life now.

4 . Do you want to live a happier, less stressful life? Try laughing for no reason at all. That's how thousands of people start their day at Laughter Clubs around the world and many doctors now think that having a good laugh might be one of the best ways to stay healthy.

The first Laughter Club was started in Mumbai, India, in 1995 by Dr. Madan Kataria. "Young children laugh about 300 times a day. Adults laugh between 7 and 15 times a day," says Dr. Kataria. "Everyone is naturally good at laughing-it's the universal language. We want people to feel happy with their lives." There are now more than 500 Laughter Clubs in India and over l,300 in the world.

Many doctors are also interested in the effects of laughter on our health. According to a 5-year study at the UCLA School of Medicine in California, with laughing there is less stress in the body. Laughter improves our health against illness by about 40%.

So what happens at a Laughter Club? I went along to my nearest club in South London to find out. I was quite nervous at the beginning of the class, to be honest, I wasn't interested in laughing with a group of strangers, and I was worried about looking stupid. Our laughter teacher told us to clap our hands and say “ho ho ho, ha ha ha.” while looking at each other. However, our bodies can't tell the difference between real laughter and unreal laughter, so they still produce the same healthy effects.

Surprisingly, it worked! After ten minutes everybody in the room was laughing for real and some people just couldn't stop! At the end of the class I was surprised by how relaxed-and comfortable I felt. So if you're under stress, then start laughing. You might be very pleased with the results!

A．India

B．America

C．Britain

D．China

A．Surprised.

B．Pleased

C．Nervous.

D．Tired.

A．After ten minutes.	B．After ten hours.
C．After ten seconds.	D．After ten days.

5 . These people are studying English. However, they are now facing some problems.