Cursive (手写体)is about to become extinct. Do we raise the red flag? To teach or not to teach cursive is the question that several state education departments are struggling with.
Before you read this write-up $ do a simple exercise. Pick a pen and paper and start writing in cursive. Yes，that fancy handwriting that you learned in grade school. You may not have forgotten the good times you had while writing loopy Ps and Gs as well as curly Ms and Ns. However，the chances are that you won't be able to write it as excellently as you used to. Some people are good at making the perfect loops and curls，while some are bad. I am still terrible at it.
Cursive is hardly used by kids anymore as even adults don 't write in this style，unless they are using it for their signature. Learning this handwriting was a usual practice in school for several decades. However，in 2011, the Indiana Department of Education made it optional (可选择的)for schools to teach cursive writing to the students. In fact, there were 46 more states who have done the same. There are some who believe that it is high time for cursive to retire from school curriculum. After all，if we don ’ t leave the past behind，we cannot make way for new things. If you walk into any classroom，you would find children using keyboards to communicate in written form. On the other hand，fans of this cursive insist on its usefulness. They remind us that if we stop teaching and learning cursive in schools，very soon most of our historical documents will become hard to us.
Where do we stand on this subject? Is it the right time to erase an almost forgotten handwriting and live in the keyboarding world? Or can we do both without compromising (妥协)on our school curriculum? Let me know your thoughts on this matter by leaving a comment in the section below.
1.People use cursive when they
A. give their signature B. are in Indiana
C. grow up as adults D. are at school
2. In Indiana school, children
A. must learn cursive
B. are interested in cursive
C. can choose to learn cursive
D. learn cursive everyday
3. It can be inferred that the author
A. prefers to learn cursive
B. is a cursive teacher
C. welcomes people to show their opinions
D. is a very famous expert in education
4. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. Is Cursive Writing Necessary?
B. Is Keyboarding World Good?
C. A Keyboarding World
D. Advantages of Cursive
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1. Which is a necessary requirement to contribute a book?
A. One photo of you and your book.
B. A book never published.
C. Answering some questions.
D. An expert in your field.
2.What does the underlined part “we endeavor not to do this” in the sentence mean?
A. We try not to be personal.
B. We try not to change your writing.
C. We try not to reserve the right.
D. We try not to delay the publication.
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A. A magazine.
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D. A newspaper.
While I will explain a bit about the science of stress and relaxation a little later simple way to think about it is that our body 's stress response works like a car alarm. Keep us safe by warning us of the presence of danger in our immediate environment.
But instead of warning us with a loud and annoying sound，our body alarm system lets us know that something is wrong by creating changes in our neurochemistry (神经化学）.If you've ever experienced pain in your stomach，periods of extreme anger, inability to focus or even insomnia (失眠），chances are your body was paying the price in those moments for the brain chemistry of stress.
So if it's so uncomfortable，why not just get rid of stress altogether?
This is not only impractical，it would be dangerous. Let's go back to the metaphor (比喻说法）of the car alarm. If the alarm is turned off altogether，the car is exposed to continual danger without there being any way of your knowing about it until it is too late. It would be like walking through the jungle without any fear signal in the presence of a poisonous snake or other dangerous animals — while it might feel “nice” to be so relaxed，your body actually needs the stress response not only to remind you of danger but also to offer extra adrenaline (肾上腺素) for your heart and extra blood and oxygen for your arms and legs.
However，if the car alarm goes off at any time，someone just looks at the car with a bit of an attitude，and it becomes equally useless. Not only do we stop paying attention to it，but it begins to drive us and everyone around us becomes a little bit crazy. In the case of our bodies，walking around in a constant state of alarm also has some pretty alarming health consequences，which we will explore in greater depth in the next chapter.
1.Our body's stress response is compared to a car alarm in that .
A. they work all the time B. they both give a signal
C. they work in the same way D. they both produce a sound
2.When our body alarm system works， .
A. we feel calm
B. we feel excited
B. some changes happen in our brain
D. some changes happen in our heart
3.What would happen if stress were got rid of completely?
A. We'11 be free of worries.
B. We'11 achieve a sense of safety.
C. We'11 reach a perfect state of mind.
D. We'11 fail to realize the possible danger.
4. What's the purpose of giving the example of walking through the Jungle in Paragraph 4?
A. To show the harm of stress.
B. To show the effect of stress.
C. To explain the function of stress response.
D. To explain the necessity of stress response.
So many of us hold on to little complaints that may have come from an argument ，a misunderstanding，the way we were raised，or some other painful events. Stubbornly，we wait for someone else to reach out to us — believing this is the only way we can forgive or rekindle a friendship or family relationship.
A friend of mine，recently told me that she hadn't spoken to her son in almost three years. She said that she and her son had had a disagreement about his wife and that she wouldn't speak to him again unless he called first. When I suggested that she be the one to reach out，she said，“ I can't do that. He’s the one who should apologize. ” After a little gentle encouragement，however，she did decide to be the first one to reach out. To her amazement，her son was grateful for her willingness to call and offered an apology of his own. As is usually the case，when someone takes the chance and reaches out，everyone wins.
Whenever we hold on to our anger, we turn“ small stuff”问题）”into really“ big stuff” in our minds. We start to believe that our positions are more important than our happiness. They are not. If you want to be a more peaceful person you must understand that being right is almost never more important than allowing yourself to be happy. The way to be happy is to let go，and reach out. Let other people be right. This doesn't mean that you're wrong. Everything will be fine. You'll experience the peace of letting go，as well as the joy of letting others be right.
You'11 also notice that，as you reach out and let others be “right”，they will become less defensive and more loving toward you. They might even reach back. But，if for some reason they don't， that's okay too. You '11 have the inner satisfaction of knowing that you have done your part to create a more loving world，and certainly you'11 be more peaceful yourself.
1. The underlined word “ rekindle” in Paragraph 1 probably means “ ”.
A. recover B. develop
C. accept D. replace
2.In the author's opinion, we hold on to our anger often because we think .
A. we can turn small issues into big ones
B. our positions are higher than others
C. our own opinions matter most
D. others will be less defensive
3.The best thing to do after a quarrel is to .
A. let go of our own rights
B. realize that you are wrong.
C. expect others to give in
D. apologize to others first.
4. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. People should keep peaceful when facing small stuff.
B. Reaching out and apologizing wins one peace and happiness.
C. We should tell apart small and big stuff in our daily life.
D. It's necessary to enjoy our friendship and family relationship.
书面表达
假设你是李华，你的朋友Kate想写一篇关于世界主要国家中学生课外阅读的小论文。她给你发了邮件询问有关情况，请你写一封英文邮件进行回复。
内容主要包括：
1. 你校同学课外阅读情况；
2. 分析这种状况的原因；
3. 你的观点。
注意：1. 词数100左右；
2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3. 文章的开头和结尾已经给出（不计入总词数）。
Dear Kate,
Thank you for your email. Now I would like to tell you something about the extracurricular reading in our school. ______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
短文改错
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中
共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(
)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用(＼)划掉。
修改：在错的词下画___横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
About one year before, we got a lovely cat named Dexter. He enjoys watching my elderly neighbor in her garden. Although he won’t let her to touch him, he always keeps an eye on her.
One afternoon I heard Dexter calling strange. When I reached the door to check on him, his calling stops, so I headed back to the kitchen. Just as I did, his calling started again. I stepped outside to find Dexter sit next to my elderly neighbor had fallen. He didn’t have the strength to get up and shout for help. Dexter didn’t leave her sides until help arrived. With Dexter, she might not have been found in time.
