Today, widespread social pressure to immediately go to college together with increasingly high expectations in a fast -moving world often causes students to completely overlook the possibility of taking a gap year. And after going to school for 12 years, it doesn't feel natural to spend a year during something that isn’t academic.
But despite common misconceptions, a gap year does not impede the success of academics—in fact, it probably promotes it.
Studies show that students who take a gap year are generally better prepared for and perform better in college than those who do not. Gap year experiences can lessen the difficulty when it comes to adjusting to college and being thrown into a brand new environment, making it easier to focus on academics and activities.
Nearly 80 percent of college students end up changing their majors at least once. Many students find themselves listing one major on their college applications, but switching to another after taking college classes. At Boston College, for example, you would have to complete an extra year were you to switch to the nursing school from another department. Taking a gap year to figure things out initially can help prevent stress and save money later on.
Many people, however, argue that the gap year itself can take much money. That’s a math. There are formal gap year programs that are rather pricey, but there are also many opportunities to volunteer and receive free housing or even get paid for your gap year.
Perhaps the most convincing reason for taking a gap year is that it offers a unique opportunity that will likely never reappear. After graduating from college, it's possible to take some time off. Students should think about the next step in their future lives: Don’t rule out anything, including a gap year.
1.What might be the author's purpose by writing the passage?
A. To explain what the gap year really is.
B. To prove the necessity of the gap year.
C. To introduce the way to take the gap year.
D. To describe the students taking their gap year.
2.What stops students taking their gap year?
A. The pricey gap year programs.
B. Bad performance in high school.
C. High expectations for college life.
D. Worrying about falling behind in study.
3.What can we know about students from the passage?
A. Nearly 80 percent of college students change their majors only once.
B. High school students have little experience to choose college majors.
C. many new comers of college are suffering from acclimation blunders.
D. All colleges allow their students to change their majors free of charge.
4.What is the author’s attitude towards the gap year?
A. Favorable. B. Critical.
C. Concerned. D. Indifferent.
Every year, TIME selects the best inventions that are making the world better, smarter and — in some cases—a little more fun. Here’s which ones made this year’s unranked list.
●Morpher
People refuse to wear a helmet because they’re thick and bulky. Morpher, a bike helmet made from interweaved plastics that is just as strong as its traditional helmets, but flexible enough to fold almost totally flat, making it easier to transport. Morpher has raised almost $300,000 on Indiegogo and may be available for sale in stores in future.
● Hyper Adapt
Almost everyone who sees the movie Back to the Future wants a pair of self-lacing shoes. Now, thanks to Nike, the shoe dream is a reality. When wearers press a button near the tongue, the Hyper Adapt 1.0s automatically tighten and loosen around their foot. Simplified shoe fastening could give users an edge during sports competition, and it’s especially useful for people with impaired（受损的） motor function.
●Hello Sense
It's hard to believe that an alarm clock could not only be beautiful but also improve your sleep. That it could monitor the temperature, humidity(湿度), light and even air quality in your bedroom to help you engineer a perfect sleep environment. That it could monitor your sleep cycles and wake you when you’re least likely to feel groggy—all thanks to simple voice commands.
●Eatwell Assistive Tableware
It is hard for Alzheimer’s patients to use silverware without spilling. Eatwell Assistive Tableware is a dining set designed to make mealtime easier for people with Alzheimer’s and other diseases that affect brain and body function. The tableware uses bright colors to help people distinguish their plates from their food and putting wide rubber bases on the cups to prevent spills.
1.What is the advantage of Morpher over traditional helmets?
A. It is portable. B. It is safer.
C. It is stronger. D. It is folding and light.
2.Who may like Hyper Adapt most?
A. Athletes. B. Officer workers.
C. Taxi drivers. D. Regular travelers.
3.What does the underlined word “groggy” in Paragraph 3 mean?
A. Energetic. B. Dizzy.
C. Tiring. D. Uncomfortable.
4.What invention is unavailable on the market at present?
A. Hyper Adapt. B. Morpher.
C. Hello Sense . D. Eatwell Assistive Tableware.
假设你是李华，你的一位在本市就读大学的美国朋友Jason邀请你周末观看《金刚狼3》并给你寄来了电影海报（如下图所示），但是海报所提供的信息不是非常完整，请你给Jason发一封电子邮件，请他解答下列的疑问：
1.这是系列电影的第三部，能否介绍前两部的主要情节，帮助你了解整个故事；
2.电影几点结束；
3.学生能否享受打折优惠；
4.请告知见面的时间和地点。
注意：
1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Jason,
I am writing to_____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
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。每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：把多余的词用斜线（＼）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，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限一词;
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
I’m happy to have older brother. He’s caring, smart or responsible. I’m proud in him, yet I am always annoying him and hurt his feelings.
But one thing made me to see how specially our relationship is, I had a cousin which died seven years ago. On the day of his funeral, his sister says she wished she had had a better relationship with him. But nobody can turn back the hand of time. I don’t want this to happen to my brother and I. I will try to be a better sister.
When my daughter was five, she 1.(give) a piano as a birthday present. With great 2.（excite）, she began learning it. 3.when she was no longer curious, she become sick of it.
When her first teacher left, my friend introduced me 4.an American teacher whose way of teaching was completely American. After practicing, she would give my daughter some good comments, and then point out 5.should be improved. Every time she came, instead of beginning the lesson right away, she would first play some music. She said, "To learn6. piano, you should learn not only the skills of playing, but more7. (important) to feel the music and love it."
After some time, my daughter became fond of her lessons. Surprisingly, my daughter said to me one day, "Mom, I was lucky that you didn't give up my piano lessons. 8.(learn) it is like climbing a mountain. You'll feel 9.(tire) when you are on the way. When you look down from where you are, you will realize that you 10.(make) progress. But if you stop, you’ll never take one more step.” That was the very thing I wanted to teach her.
“I won’t stop learning new things _________I die,” 105-year-old Zhao Muhe told domestic media.
He got his first bachelor’s and master’s degrees in his _________, and is now working on his PhD. He traveled the world after _________and learnt to use the Internet.
Zhao, born in Shandong in 1912, moved _________ Taiwan at 39, and found a non-teaching job at National Kaohsiung Normal University. Almost 30 years later, he retired from the university. That's _________ the time for people to begin a peaceful but boring pensioner's life, _________with friends and looking after grandchildren. _______that was not for Zhao.
He decided to go to _______ university, this time to study. Zhao _______the National Open University in Taiwan in 1999. He commuted to school by bike every day, never ________ a single class. He studied __________ into the night, and it only took him four years to finish the 128 academic ________ required to graduate with an arts degree, which he did at the age of 91.
Several years later, Zhao decided to ________ his studies. He passed the entrance examination for Nanhua University in Taiwan and got a __________ in philosophy two years later. He is now auditing classes at National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan __________ he prepares to earn a doctorate degree. He thinks it's __________ too late to learn.
________ studying, he also fulfilled his dream of touring the world. Now he is learning to use a ________. "Internet is no use for a dying man like ________, bro," his fellow pensioner said humorously to him. "But I'm still __________," he replied with laughter.
1.A. because B. if C. when D. unless
2.A. eighties B. twenties C. nineties D. thirties
3.A. adjustment B. retirement C. presentation D. examination
4.A. to B. away C. out of D. from
5.A. suddenly B. gradually C. normally D. typically
6.A. hanging up B. hanging out C. hanging down D. hanging over
7.A. But B. And C. So D. For
8.A. another B. each C. that D. his
9.A. arrived at B. graduated from C. studied D. attended
10.A. sharing B. refusing C. stopping D. missing
11.A. later B. late C. latest D. lately
12.A. reports B. lessons C. credits D. notes
13.A. get on with B. put off C. reunite D. continue
14.A. master’s degree B. bachelor’s degree C. doctor’s degree D. teacher’s degree
15.A. when B. after C. before D. as
16.A. ever B. never C. still D. yet
17.A. In case of B. By means of C. In addition of D. In spite of
18.A. computer B. camera C. shaver D. bike
19.A. him B. her C. you D. it
20.A. awake B. alive C. asleep D. alone
