1 . It’s time for our annual 100+word-story Contest again. How do we pick out the winners? Read our final choices last year below. After reading these, head over to Facebook and submit your own story to Reader’s Digest.
WINNER: $1000 Lynne Momple South Africa
Mavis took one end and I the other and together we carefully moved the old bed through the bedroom door and the open balcony doors.We lifted it over the balustrade (扶手) into the hands of family members waiting below. Carrying it under the low Albizia branches, then past the loses, they gently put it down in the middle of the freshly mown lawn.
Chantelle carried out the cotton sheets, the embroidered pillows, and finally the multi-coloured blanket her great-grandmother had knitted for me.
Tonight, on her 90th birthday, my mother wants to sleep out under the stars.
WHAT THE JUDGES SAID:
“We thought this story had a strong visual impact thanks to the rich selection of words. It is a deserving winner.”
RUNNER-UP: $250 Ritu Hemnani Hong Kong
Cope and Meera played together every day. “Race you to the garden !” Meera won. “I’m one step ahead!”
Cope chased Meera around the trees. Then she wept “We’re moving away.” Cope’s heart broke. “I will write to you.”
For years they remembered. Then life pulled them apart. Yet neither one forgot.
“It’s time for you to marry.” Cope’s father said one day, “I have chosen a girl.”
“I hope she’s sweet.” Cope prayed.
Later, he lifted her veil (面纱). “Meera, it’s you!” “I guess I’m still one step ahead!”
Meera smiled.
WHAT THE JUDGES SAID:
“This entry tells a complete story. It conveys a rich tenderness and intimacy that has a lasting impact on the reader.”
1. What is the purpose of the passage?| A．To display some funny stories. | B．To encourage readers to contribute. |
| C．To advertise two awarded stories. | D．To promote a story-telling contest. |
| A．variety in word | B．creativity in style |
| C．humour in language | D．flexibility in expression |
| A．It is a funny joke. | B．It is a fairy tale. |
| C．It is a classic comedy. | D．It is a romantic story. |
2 . Today, we are talking about money. I can share a bit about my history with money and my new view when it comes to using green paper.
I made a web page with links to posts about our financial (财政的) journey where you can look for more details of where we've been and how we got where we are now. It was a big part of my story in the past and was a huge part of our downsizing（精简） journey. We got out of debt and stayed out of debt.
So I feel eager（渴望的）to share the benefits of being on this side. It takes more planning and more careful thought whenever a dollar is spent now than it did when I had a wallet full of credit cards. I now like to think all of my dollars doing the job. So many of us work for money and don't consider that money should work for us, too. Make your dollars do the job of helping you live the life you want.
Each time money is spent or saved, it should be going toward something that you purposefully want for your life. Last week I was out and I spent $ 20 on food in 3 days. It made me angry because afterward I thought about eating is not at all what I want for my life.
On the other hand, there are times I spend $ 20 while out with my family and it doesn't bother（使烦恼）me one bit. An afternoon out with my kids during which we stop for ice cream, and do something fun together has a completely different feel.
In the end, I want the dollars I spend to have purpose like I can enjoy life while still planning and saving for the future.
1. The underlined words “green paper” in Paragraph 1 refer to“________”.| A．money | B．work | C．newspaper | D．book |
| A．by reading posts about their financial journey |
| B．by going on a financial journey |
| C．by making a web page |
| D．by writing to him |
| A．more credit cards should be used in our daily life |
| B．we should work hard to make more money |
| C．money should help us live better |
| D．saving money is very easy |
| A．Because the money is spent on food. |
| B．Because the money is spent in doing something fun. |
| C．Because eating is what he wants for his life. |
| D．Because the money goes toward something that he wants for his life. |
| 周末活动（减负前） | 周末活动（减负后） |
| 白天：上课、做作业 | 白天：参观博物馆、学习电脑、绘画等 |
| 晚上：做作业 | 晚上：看新闻、读书、看报 |
| 就寝时间：11:30 | 就寝时间：11:30 |
词数:100左右
参考词汇: 减负- reduce learning load.
Dear Dick,
How nice to hear from you again. You want to know what is going on in schools in China?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4 . I once read about a Frenchman who spent weeks alone in a cave to see what would happen to his body rhythm. The idea of living without the structure of time became a
It's a strange feeling to
In the end,we were
I think, as a society, we should reconsider the way we spend our time. We wake up
| A．trend | B．dream | C．threat | D．reality |
| A．finance | B．doubt | C．repeat | D．postpone |
| A．time | B．hunger | C．direction | D．belonging |
| A．work | B．talk | C．wake | D．play |
| A．stressful | B．desperate | C．challenging | D．freeing |
| A．cave | B．jungle | C．flat | D．pond |
| A．assessments | B．arguments | C．restrictions | D．regulations |
| A．tense | B．calm | C．friendly | D．relaxing |
| A．withdraw | B．quarrel | C．hesitate | D．unite |
| A．competition | B．prejudice | C．bond | D．feature |
| A．yet | B．even | C．only | D．barely |
| A．nervous | B．bored | C．depressed | D．happy |
| A．hang on | B．go out | C．cut in | D．take off |
| A．because | B．unless | C．before | D．though |
| A．friends | B．bodies | C．lectures | D．parents |
①过去遇到问题时的表现(如心理压力、情绪紧张、心情低落等)。
②介绍你解决压力问题的做法。
③表达你的希望。
注意：1.词数不少于100，开头和结尾已给出,不计入总词数。
2.必须包含提示内容。
3.可适当加入细节,以使内容充实、行文连贯。
Dear Peter,
Glad to hear from you, I'd like to write about how to live with pressure.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Best wishes.
Yours,
Li Jin.
6 . When it comes to sitting properly, we all know the correct way even if we don' t do it to the letter. No crossed legs, bottoms touching the back of the chair and feet on the ground. But even if you' re doing it right, sitting for long periods is shockingly bad for you. It has been described as the new smoking, linked to heart disease and even cancer. There is no doubt we should all try to do less of it. But perhaps we could also do it better.
A classic survey, published in 1953, described 100 different sitting postures adopted by 480 cultures around the world. Among the most common were sitting cross-legged, kneeling and the deep squat (深蹲), with feet flat on the ground and bottoms resting on or just above it. Even in Western cultures, these are preferred sitting positions among young children. But Westerners tend to prefer chair use from an early age, insisting children sit on seats in school.
One big problem with this desire for chairs is that they make sitting so, well, sedentary (久坐不动的). Consider the Hadza, a group of hunter-gatherer people in Tanzania. They spend around 9 hours a day sitting. However, they squat and sit on the ground in various positions, and this involves high levels of muscle activity. The supportive nature of chairs, with their high backs and armrests, removes this effort perhaps the reason that people love them.
So what' s the best way to sit? Josette Bettany-SaItikov at Teesside University, UK has found that kneeling can help keep the spine in a better position as does squatting. We might also take inspiration from traditional cultures like the Hadza. "Use a variety of postures and preferably not just still postures but some which allow movement," says Bettany-Saltikov.
Bettany-Saltikov believes that we should be rethinking what it means to do a desk job. "We still need to design workplaces that enable people to be productive while being lightly active, like with under-table cycling or walking desks," she says. For now, if your job is sedentary, don' t forget to stand up regularly and move around.
1. What does the author think of sitting properly for long?| A．It still does some harm. | B．It improves body shape. |
| C．It can prevent heart disease. | D．It may cause smoking-related illnesses. |
| A．Children should sit in their preferred manner. |
| B．Children should take their seats while sitting. |
| C．Children should practice sitting cross-legged. |
| D．Children should learn different sitting postures. |
| A．They sit for short periods of time. | B．They sit for the purpose of exercise. |
| C．They use some muscles while sitting. | D．They remain generally still while sitting. |
| A．Combine exercise and their work. | B．Improve their productivity at work. |
| C．Kneel or go cycling as often as possible. | D．Start exercising as soon as they leave work. |
7 . A woman is volunteering in ashelter. It all started because she missed her own
Sandy was at a loss when her beloved Angus died last year — terribly lonely, yet not quite
Remembering that her dog had loved being read to, she brought along a
It's now been 18 months sinceSandy first began
Sandy was
Inspired by Sandy's style of
| A．husband | B．kid | C．dog | D．animal |
| A．ready | B．free | C．sorry | D．grateful |
| A．However | B．Meanwhile | C．Besides | D．Therefore |
| A．comforting | B．admiring | C．missing | D．helping |
| A．toy | B．book | C．camera | D．photo |
| A．settling into | B．stealing into | C．heading for | D．looking for |
| A．duty | B．work | C．good | D．wrong |
| A．uneasy | B．unsure | C．unhappy | D．unaware |
| A．reading | B．attending | C．waving | D．whispering |
| A．content | B．patient | C．strict | D．careful |
| A．interviewed | B．trained | C．petted | D．photographed |
| A．teaching | B．living | C．thinking | D．volunteering |
| A．accepted | B．predicted | C．recorded | D．organized |
| A．involved | B．experienced | C．united | D．relaxed |
| A．competition | B．company | C．service | D．advice |
8 . Although the vast majority of people have admitted to considering having an emergency fund to fall back on in case of a financial disaster, once their paycheck comes through, they have many duties higher on their list of importance that need paying off. However, one Australian financial advisor has given clear and important reasons why an emergency fund should always be at the top of your priorities.
Canna Campbell explains how to create this fund and how it differs from your other savings accounts. She said, “Your emergency fund should be treated differently to your current account and savings.” Campbell went on to explain that the money put into this account should be decided according to how much you are paid in your job and if you were to lose it, the money you would need to keep yourself out of the minus.
In addition, people need to consider situations where they might have housing damage or a medical emergency arising, resulting them in requiring immediate assistance that insurance will not cover. For this reason, Campbell added that there is no “ ‘one size fits all,’ everyone is different.” She insisted that it“boils down to your situation, lifestyle, responsibilities and what helps you sleep well at night. "
As for how to do it, Canna gave instructions too,“Work out how you can start setting money aside in a separate account, and build this separate savings account as quickly as possible, without cutting your living expenses.”
She finally added, “So keep it simple. However, it can be worth temporarily going without a few luxuries in order to find the extra cash flow to put into your emergency fund account. Going without a few items in the short term definitely outweighs the stress as it gives you peace of mind knowing that you have a safety net to protect you.”
1. Which of the following shows what most people do about creating an emergency fund?| A．Prevention is better than cure. | B．Lightning never strikes twice in the same place. |
| C．Time and tide waits for no man. | D．To say is one thing and to do is just another. |
| A．The benefits of an emergency fund. | B．The size of an emergency fund. |
| C．The types of an emergency fund. | D．The necessity of an emergency fund. |
| A．The emergency fund can replace insurance. | B．The emergency fund brings more fun. |
| C．The emergency fund is really very simple. | D．The emergency fund can lessen stress. |
| A．What Just Goes at the Very Top of Your Priorities? |
| B．How Does Emergency Fund Obtain the Peace of Mind? |
| C．Emergency Fund for Financial Security and Stability |
| D．Canna's Advice on Reducing a Financial Disaster |
9 . A scary new virus swept over the globe and the virus knocked on my door a few weeks ago when I was
But then I got the second call.…It came from Public Health revising my category to “exclusion”— a
So I picked out
I had no doubt that this crisis will end, as all the crises happened before. And it was our choice on
| A．exposed | B．operated | C．moved | D．stayed |
| A．allowing | B．informing | C．letting | D．telling |
| A．relief | B．joy | C．confusion | D．coincidence |
| A．little | B．less | C．few | D．more |
| A．work | B．clinic | C．family | D．life |
| A．shot | B．hit | C．chance | D．form |
| A．partly | B．slowly | C．really | D．fortunately |
| A．having | B．breaking | C．sharing | D．hearing |
| A．in | B．above | C．off | D．on |
| A．formal | B．expensive | C．wonderful | D．spare |
| A．downstairs | B．upstairs | C．outwards | D．inwards |
| A．Over | B．On | C．After | D．Before |
| A．sleeping | B．meeting | C．working | D．staying |
| A．work on | B．depend on | C．live on | D．put on |
| A．what | B．whether | C．how | D．why |
Over the years, I've been guilty of hurriedly shutting the front door to many strangers when they came to my home knocking with the intention of selling things. I hated it when they tried their best to persuade me to buy the things they promoted. But earlier this year, around Easter time, a dear friend of mine, Linda, had an experience that changed my mind and attitude towards these "intruders".
Last winter, Linda went through a very messy divorce and was very depressed. So she quit her job and left Los Angeles, where she encountered her ex-husband in college. She flew to Boston on the east coast of the US. Later, she settled in a new neighborhood in East Boston. However, shortly afterwards, the company where she worked went bankrupt（破产）. Suffering a series of bitter blows. she fell ill, a severe case of flu. She had to stay at home for the whole week, feeling extremely bad and hopeless.
Early one morning, Linda lay in bed, feeling painful all over. Then all of a sudden, there was an upsetting knock on her front door. Struggling out of the bed, she dragged herself to the window. There, outside, she saw a young lady carefully holding some leaflets（传单）and a TV set model. She knew of a large TV set establishment nearby and assumed a message was about to be gently delivered. "This is the last thing I need today." She muttered to herself and hesitantly opened the door.
Coughing bitterly, Linda stuck her head out. "Excuse me, madam…" the young lady said with a smile. "I'm sorry but I am not the slightest bit interested in any TV whatever." Linda interrupted her impatiently. "As a matter of fact, I am feeling terribly awful." "Is there anything I can do for you, madam?" the young lady asked with concern. "No thanks, just leave me alone." Linda then shut the door in her face. The young lady politely turned and left in silence.
注意：1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
Paragraph 1:
A few hours later, another knock.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2:
Linda was surprised by this lovely action.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
