A hobby is an activity we can do in our free time, so that we can keep ourselves busy with something that makes us happy. Hobbies are activities we choose to do, but not activities we have to do.
Hobbies play a very important role in our lives. For example, they are a way of connecting us with our inner(内部的) self. The time used to take up a hobby is our own time. This is the time when we can connect and communicate with ourselves. During this personal time, we can do whatever we like. Doing things according to our own wishes gives us a sense of inner satisfaction, and also helps develop self-confidence.
Hobbies also help discover talents. It is possible that we are interested in a certain activity, but have never had a chance to try it. If we develop our interest as our hobbies, it’s quite clear that we’ll do it with great interest. Our talents can be discovered, and this can make them feel more confident.
It’s human nature to try to know more about the things we like. When we pursue(追求) some activities as our favorite hobbies, we want to get more knowledge about the hobby. Whether it’s gardening, cooking, painting or collecting stamps, we always try to get a deeper understanding of what we’re doing, so that we can do it more correctly. What’s more, we also happen to meet people with similar tastes and sometimes. Besides getting knowledge, hobbies also provide us with a chance to meet people who share similar likes and dislikes with us.
Whatever our hobbies are, they can be developed at any age. However, if we begin at a young age, we can get more time to experience the joys.
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Outline | Supporting details | |
2. | Hobbies are activities we do in our spare time and can make us happy. Hobbies are activities we do according to the 3. we make. | |
Advantages | Connecting with the inner self | The time 4. on the hobby is our personal time when we can be free to do anything we like. We’ll feel satisfied and become more confident. |
5.talents | We can learn a lot by trying some activities that we show 6. in. We’ll be able to find our 7. talents. | |
Getting knowledge | When pursuing a hobby, we should try our best to 8. it well, and then we get a lot of knowledge. We are also be 9. a chance to meet people who share similar likes and dislikes with us. | |
Conclusion | 10. all hobbies can be developed at any age, yet it’s better to develop one when we are young. |
The British government has started a ￡10 million Mandarin Excellence(普通话优秀) Program. The program will see over 5,000 British students towards fluency(流利) in Mandarin Chinese by 2020.
The program is led by local schools and supported by University College London. So far, 14 schools have taken part in the program. Hundreds of secondary school students in England have taken lessons in Mandarin Chinese. Over the next three years, they will spend eight hours studying Mandarin Chinese every week.
Nick Gibb is an officer of the British government. He said a high level of fluency in Mandarin Chinese would become more and more important. “Language skills are important for jobs and life. Mandarin Chinese is spoken by the largest number of people in the world. It is also one of the languages that is the most important to our country’s future. If the United Kingdom wants to remain competitive(竞争的) in the world，we do need far more of our young people leaving school with a good command(精通) of Mandarin Chinese,” Gibb added. “We hope that our young people could be given the chance to study the language. We want them to be fluent in both spoken and written Mandarin. The Mandarin Excellence Program will help us do this. It will not only open the students’ eyes, but also give them a great advantage when they enter the world of work.”
British kids, in fact, are not alone. In America, about 200,000 students are studying Mandarin Chinese. It is believed that 800,000 more will join them over the next couple of years.
1.According to the article, about ________ students in America will study Mandarin Chinese over the next couple of years.
A.5,000 B.200,000 C.800,000 D.1,000,000
2.Nick Gibb thinks that the Mandarin Excellence Program may ________.
① help British students find better jobs in the future
② help the United Kingdom remain competitive in the world
③ give more British students a chance to learn Mandarin Chinese
④ help the United Kingdom improve its relationship with China
A.①②③ B.①②④ C.①③④ D.②③④
3.Which of the following sentences is TRUE?
A.Over 5,000 American students are studying Mandarin Chinese.
B.Fourteen schools from Britain have taken part in the program.
C.British students will soon stop learning Mandarin Chinese after 2020.
D.Mandarin Chinese has been the most widely-written language in the world.
4.What is the main idea of the article?
A.People in the world are learning Mandarin Chinese.
B.Mandarin Chinese is one of the most difficult languages to learn.
C.The UK has started a program to help its young people learn Mandarin Chinese.
D.Mandarin Chinese will soon be the most widely-used language instead of English.
It happened two years ago. It was Mother’s Day morning. I was doing my shopping at our local supermarket with my five-year-old son, Tenyson. As we were leaving, we found that only minutes earlier an elderly woman had fallen over at the entrance and had hit her head on the ground. Her husband was with her, but there was blood everywhere and the woman was embarrassed (尴尬的) and clearly in shock. Walking towards the scene, Tenyson became very sad about what had happened to the couple. He said to me, “Mum, it’s not much fun falling over in front of everyone.”
At the front of the supermarket a charity group had set up a stand selling fish and chips and flowers to raise funds. Tenyson suggested that we should buy the lady a flower. “It will make her feel better,” he said. I was amazed that he’d come up with such a sweet idea. So we went over to the flower seller and asked her if we could buy a flower for the lady to cheer her up. “Just take it,” she replied. “I can’t take your money for such a wonderful gesture (姿势).”
By now paramedics (救援人员) had arrived, and were attending the injured (受伤的) woman. As we walked up to her, my son became intimidated by all the blood and medical equipment (器具). He said he didn’t want to go up to her.
Instead I gave the flower to the woman’s husband and told him, “My son was very sad for your wife and wanted to give her this flower to make her feel better.”
At that, the old man started crying and said, “Thank you so much, you have a wonderful son. Happy Mother’s Day to you.”
The man then bent down and gave his wife the flower, telling her who it was from. Though badly hurt and shaken, the old lady looked up at Tenyson with love in her eyes and gave him a little smile.
1.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A.The elderly woman was knocked down by Tenyson.
B.Tenyson’s idea of buying a flower got his mother’s support.
C.Tenyson’s care for the elderly woman surprised the flower seller.
D.The elderly woman was moved to tears by Tenyson’s gesture.
2.The underlined word “intimidated” in the passage probably means “___________”.
A.surprised B.pleased C.frightened D.excited
3.Choose the right order of the events given in the story. _________
a. The paramedics arrived and attended the injured woman.
b. We bought a flower for the lady to cheer her up.
c. I did some shopping at our local supermarket with my five-year-old son.
d. My son became very sad about what had happened to the couple.
e. An elderly woman fell over at the entrance.
A.c, e, a, b, d B.a, c, e, d, b C.c, a, e, d, b D.c, e, d, b, a
4.What would be the best title for the passage?
A.The Power of Flower B.Mother’s Day
C.An Accidental Injury D.An Embarrassing Moment
Hotels are no longer the first and only choice for travellers in China to sleep at night. A new type of accommodation (住宿) choice called bed-and-breakfast (B&B) is welcoming more visitors in China.
During this month’s Golden Week, bookings for the B&Bs in China grew by 400 percent from 2016, according to B&B booking website Tujia.com.
Starting in Europe, B&B is often a private family home. Travellers pay to stay overnight and have breakfast. In China, many B&Bs are in rural (农村的) areas and are more about fun, experiences and new friendships, reported by China Daily.
“The meals are cooked by the host. Very often, vegetables are homegrown. Hosts and guests chat over a meal and play with the pets together,” Yu Minliang, a 23-year-old tourist from Shanghai, told China Daily.
However, as more B&Bs come out, the service sometimes may not be good enough. Some guests complained the soundproofing (隔音) is bad and the house is dirty.
To solve the problem, the first national industry standards were carried out on Oct.1. For example, every B&B should provide no more than 14 guest rooms and things like towels and sheets must be changed after every visitor.
The standards will help the B&B industry develop in a healthy and sustainable (可持续的) way, reported CNR (中国广播网).
1.What is B&B?
A.A new way of welcoming visitors in Europe. B.A new type of sleeping at night in China.
C.The first choice to sleep at night in China. D.A new type of accommodation choice in China.
2.What do travellers usually do in B&Bs in China?
A.Cook meals and grow some vegetables B.Sleep at night and have some meals.
C.Chat with each other and draw some pictures D.Cook meals and play with the pets together.
3.Which of the following is NOT included in the standards?
A.Change towels and sheets. B.Provide no more than 14 guest rooms.
C.Make sure the rooms are clean and tidy. D.Make sure hot water is in service all day.
4.According to the last paragraph, we can infer ___________.
A.the national standards are useless for B&B industry B.people have no interest in B&B
C.there will be a brighter future for the B&B industry D.people will no longer choose B&B to live
Many students are always afraid not to do better in the tests and become worried. Here are some tips to get over the test anxiety (考试焦虑症).
Before the test:
★Review and practice lessons until you are full of confidence.
★Get a good sleep the night before the test.
★Arrive at test places a bit early.
★Avoid reviewing the lessons with other anxiety-filled students.
During the test:
★Write down key information that might be forgotten .
★Take a moment to look through the test to learn about the type and quantity (数量) of questions.
★If you meet a hard question, relax and move onto the next question you feel confident answering.
★Take deep breaths if you feel stressed in the test.
★Stop negative (消极的) and self-defeating (自我怀疑) thoughts. Repeat “I can do this”.
★Don’t rush. High points are not given to students who hand their test in early.
★Review the test carefully before handing it in . Make sure that you are careful and won’t make any mistakes (错误).
1.What should students do on the night before the tests?
A.Have some good food B.Listen to lots of music
C.Have a good sleep D.Exercise and surf the Internet
2.The sentence “Stop negative and self-defeating thoughts. Repeat ‘I can do this’ ”means ____.
A.negative and self-defeating thoughts are necessary
B.students should be confident during the tests
C.everything is very easy for you
D.students should have many self-defeating thoughts
3.The passage mainly tells us _____.
A.tests are very important for students B.how to do well in the tests
C.some advice to get over the test anxiety D.students shouldn’t hand in paper earlier
Do you know Carole Gregory, an amazing old woman? She is putting films into her life. She often makes some cakes into the shapes of her favorite_____ in films.
The 68-year-old woman comes from England. She makes a living by_____cakes. About months ago, she thought about it _____ for a few days and then decided to accept a new challenge (挑战) after ____ one of her favorite films.
“I love this new challenge,” said Carole. “_____ I’ve made thousands of cakes over the years, this is my first time trying to make a change. And I’ve found making film cakes _____ a hobby is the most fun. It’s exciting to put films into my life!”
However, it’s not an easy job. Sometimes making a film cake can ______ her many days.
“Baking (烘焙) a cake is easy,” said Carole. “But it is _____ to make the cake into a special shape.”
After long hard work, Carole _____lots of great cakes. Among them, the Predator (铁血战士) cake has been the most _____ one so far. Everyone is _____ about it and its picture has been viewed over 10,000 times online.
“People often ask if I’ve ever got bored or wanted to do _____ else but I’m an artist and I wouldn’t change my job.” Carole says.
“Now I’m looking forward to my next challenge, and ______ my hobby. I’m thinking about _______ to make my cakes better.” When talking about her future plan, Carole seems to be happy.
No matter how old you are, you should always keep trying and never give up. As for us teenagers, it is necessary to learn to make our own _____ and learn to deal with the problems. In this way, whatever problems we meet in the future, we will be able to face them bravely and are willing to take on any new challenge.
1.A.toys B.roles C.directors D.clothes
2.A.eating B.buying C.selling D.showing
3.A.seriously B.quickly C.easily D.sadly
4.A.making B.watching C.joining D.producing
5.A.Until B.Unless C.Because D.Although
6.A.as B.for C.like D.to
7.A.pay B.cost C.take D.spend
8.A.pleasant B.exciting C.boring D.hard
9.A.threw B.bought C.made D.found
10.A.important B.dangerous C.delicious D.popular
11.A.sure B.crazy C.sad D.worried
12.A.nothing B.anything C.everything D.something
13.A.continue B.to continue C.continuing D.continued
14.A.when B.what C.how D.where
15.A.progress B.decisions C.friends D.mistakes
