1 . Every year, students across the U.K.engage in the annual ritual (仪式) of telling college and university admissions officers why they deserve a seat at the school of their choice.However, this task is filled with anxiety and fear.    1     This, of course, leads many to ask the question: How should I write an essay about myself for college? Here are tips to keep in mind.

    2     For example, if all your friends are writing application essays about covid-19, that may be a good reason why you should avoid it.Unless, of course, you’ve had a vivid, life-changing experience that you are burning to share.Admissions counselors say that the best essays help them learn something about the candidate that they would never know from reading the rest of the application.

Keep your individuality in the spotlight.    3     What sets you apart from others? Tell your extraordinary story but remember not to oversell yourself.Your reader wants to see something personal about you, something that makes you stand out among others.Imagine how many applications the admissions committee reads per day, and think twice before writing some general information that doesn’t show your individuality.

Committees value authenticity.They want to hear your voice.This essay may give you the time and space to explain why a particular achievement means too much to you.But resist the urge to exaggerate: admission counselors read thousands of essays each year.    4              

Sound like yourself.Don’t use words you wouldn’t normally use.Don’t use fancy language you wouldn’t use in real life.Imagine yourself reading this essay out loud to a classroom full of people who have never met you.    5     Be on the lookout for words and phrases like ‘maybe’ ‘sort of’ ‘I think’ or anything else.

A．They can spot something unreal.

B．This rule works in all the aspects of your life.

C．Writing about oneself can be highly stressful.

D．Keep a confident tone even if you’re not feeling that way.

E．Remember, it’s all about you rather than a fashionable subject.

F．An informative and powerful essay focuses on the readers’ needs.

G．Experts often recommend looking for something unique of your life story.

2 . “ Go ahead,” I told Linda. “ Pick up the rock, and see what’s under it.”

Her 4-year-old arms struggled with the rock buried in the stream bed. Her eyes got big as she examined the worms after their nest was uncovered. She watched quietly, as they walked past her foot. She gently put the rock back and said,” Are there worms under all the rocks?”

This wasn’t school — it was a nature-based summer camp in New York’s Hudson Valley that I ran when I was 17. When I turned the kids over to their parents at the end of the day, they were tired, inspired by nature and knowledge.

Finland’s “forest kindergartens” use the natural world as a jumping off point for early academic instruction to make them enjoy learning. Finland is following in the footsteps of other European countries including Denmark, where outdoor education has been common for many years.

In the Finnish program, kids spend four days of a week, from 8:30a.m. to 6:30p.m., outside with a teacher. Built into the program is quite a bit of playtime. Kids get a lot of exercise and lesson plans are freely made so teachers can use what’s at hand and in season in their lessons.

While all this sounds less strict than a classroom-based kindergarten program, the results show that these types of programs have better results for overall physical health as well as academic performance and social development. But aren’t the kids who do this coming from wealthy, educated communities — so, of course they score better on tests? In fact, the greatest gains from spending time outdoors can be found in kids who are coming from less advantageous background. At a school near Atlanta, where kids spend 30 percent of their day outside, students have improved scores more than students from any other school in their area, and most of the kids there come from poor families.

1. Why did the author ask Linda to turn over the rock?

A．To help Linda be independent.

B．To see if Linda had enough courage.

C．To give Linda a chance to study nature.

D．To teach Linda how to protect animals.

2. What’s the purpose of Finland’s “forest kindergartens”?

A．To help kids learn about forests.

B．To popularize outdoor education.

C．To show the importance of play.

D．To develop kids’ interest in study.

3. Compared with classroom-based kindergartens, “forest kindergartens”____________.

A．seem to be less tiring	B．have no fixed lesson plans
C．set many strict rules	D．have no teachers around

4. What is an advantage of outdoor programs according to the last paragraph?

A．Kids joining them score higher on tests.

B．They help change poor kids’ families.

C．They do good to communities.

D．Kids meet people who are different from them.