Every week in China, millions of people will sit in front of their TVs watching teenagers compete for the title Character Hero, which is a Chinese-style spelling bee (拼写大赛). In this challenge, young competitors must write Chinese characters by hand. To prepare for the competition, the competitors usually spend months studying dictionaries.
Perhaps the show’s popularity should not be a surprise. Along with gunpowder and paper, many Chinese people consider the creation of Chinese calligraphy (书法) to be one of their primary contributions to civilization. Unfortunately, all over the country, Chinese people are forgetting how to write their own language without computerized help. Software on smart phones and computers allows users to type in the basic sound of the word using the Latin alphabet. The correct character is chosen from a list The result? It’s possible to recognize characters without remembering how to write them.
But there’s still hope for the paint brush. China’s Education Ministry wants children to spend more time learning how to write.
In one Beijing primary school we visited, students practice calligraphy every day inside a specially decorated classroom with traditional Chinese paintings hanging on the walls. Soft music plays as a group of six-year-olds dip brush pens into black ink. They look up at the blackboard often to study their teacher’s examples before carefully attempting to reproduce those characters on thin rice paper. “If adults can survive without using handwriting, why bother to teach it now?” we ask the calligraphy teacher, Shen Bin, “The ability to write characters is part of Chinese tradition and culture,” she reasons. “Students must learn now so they don’t forget when they grow up.” says the teacher.
1.What can we learn about the Character Hero? ________
A. It’s the most-viewed TV programs in China.
B. It’s open to people of all ages and all walks.
C. It draws great public attention across the country.
D. It aims to spread Chinese culture to the world.
2.Why are Chinese people forgetting how to write the characters?
A. Chinese people are using the Latin alphabet instead of the characters.
B. Chinese people no longer use brush pens or practice calligraphy.
C. Chinese people needn’t write by hand as often with the help of technology.
D. Chinese people don’t refer to dictionaries very often.
3.According to Shen Bin, being able to write characters by hand is ________.
A. helpful to keep Chinese tradition and culture alive
B. a requirement made by the Education Ministry
C. necessary for adults to survive in China
D. an ability to be developed only when you are students
4.Where does this text probably come from? ________
A. A science report. B. A news report.
C. Children’s literature. D. An advertisement.
今年一月，孝感遭遇极寒天气，暴雪肆虐，持续时间较长，让我们感受到了大自然的威力。为了大家的安全，部分老师和同学主动在校园、走廊等处铲冰、扫雪、铺防滑垫等，为大家做好安全服务。假定你是李华，请你给Xiaogan Daily的编辑写一封信，要点如下：
1. 描述志愿者们助人为乐的事迹；
2. 表达你对这些志愿者的感激和欣赏；
3. 呼吁大家向他们学习，积极参与有利他人的活动。
注意：1. 词数100左右；
2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
3. 书信的开头和结尾已写好，不计入总词数。
参考词汇： 走廊corridor; 铲冰shovel ice; 防滑垫 non-slip mat
Dear Editor,
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Best wishes.
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，要求你在错误的地方增加、删除或修改某个单词。
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仅限一词。
2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Last weekend, my parents and I went to visit my grandparents who live in the countryside. See us, my grandparents were very happy. I particular like their garden, where is full of vegetables and flowers. They also raise chickens, goose, cats, and dogs. Although the dogs and the cats was very friendly to me, but the chickens attacked me.
My grandma prepare a big dinner for us and most of the dishes came the garden. We all liked the pollution-free vegetables. When we left, my grandpa picked a lot of fruits or vegetables from the garden for us to take home. I love their grandparents and the garden, too.
Marty is a disabled boy 1. suffers from a muscle disease. Sometimes he is too weak 2.(run) or climb stairs as quickly as other people. The doctors don’t know 3. (exact) what is wrong with him. Luckily, Marty has learned to adapt 4. his disability. In order to make his life happy and 5. (satisfy), Marty keeps busy doing things that do not require physical strength. He has friends with 6. he can go to movies and football matches and he has lots of pets. He used to dream of one day being a famous football player and 7. (represent) his country in the World Cup. Even when he is made fun of, he doesn’t get 8. (annoy). Disabled 9. he is, Marty has become stronger and more independent. He never feels sorry for himself and he enjoys as rich and full a life as everyone else.
He suggests that we normal people should give the disabled 10. (encourage) rather than laugh at them.
As my husband, Doug, stood on the busy New York city street trying to stop a taxi, I tried to protect my daughter from the cold December wind and rain. I put my head down to kiss her tiny face.
___ and wet, my husband gave up his attempt to flag down a taxi. I knew the ____. Just after her first birthday, we were told our daughter Katie has a ____ brain illness. Since that moment, Doug and I felt like runners in a marathon race where the finish line kept ______. We knew Katie was running out of ____. It had taken months before we finally had a name for the ____, but we were told only a few of specialists in the world knew how to _____ it. Now, as we finally found a brilliant doctor to ____ our girl, we were in a strange ____ in the cold rain.
Just at the moment, a middle-aged woman pulled over and said, “Pardon me? May I offer you a(n) ____?” Before we could say anything, she continued, “It’s really no ____ for me. Just get in.”It was then that I noticed her thick Irish accent, which ____ me up like hot soup. We simply said, “Thanks! Roosevelt Hospital, please,” as we got in her car for the ride.
“Are you going ____ the baby?”she asked us. I nodded my head, holding back my ____. At the hospital, we ____ her a dozen times for the ride. As the woman hugged me, I______her face was wet with tears. She promised to ____ for us before she left.
After three more visits to New York and two more ____ operations, Erica is cured. But the_____ of the Irish Angel still rang as a constant reminder of a tiny ray of light that appeared in our_____ days.
1.A. Excited B. Frustrated C. Worried D. Satisfied
2.A. feeling B. spirit C. message D. sense
3.A. simple B. rare C. normal D. natural
4.A. coming B. lowering C. disappearing D. running
5.A. courage B. confidence C. money D. time
6.A. race B. illness C. doctor D. challenge
7.A. explain B. check C. reach D. treat
8.A. protect B. meet C. save D. encourage
9.A. country B. hospital C. town D. city
10.A. ride B. seat C. car D. umbrella
11.A. trouble B. difference C. question D. loss
12.A. picked B. called C. warmed D. woke
13.A. to B. for C. after D. with
14.A. surprise B. anger C. smile D. tears
15.A. thanked B. praised C. respected D. accepted
16.A. guessed B. believed C. understood D. noticed
17.A. work B. sing C. drive D. pray
18.A. eye B. brain C. kidney D. heart
19.A. voice B. bravery C. reward D. advice
20.A. busiest B. 1uckiest C. darkest D. happiest
Master Your Deadlines
The struggle begins in high school, sometimes earlier. Deadlines, and lots of them, start to pile up. At college, the pressure sometimes leads to last-minute rush and unsatisfactory work. At work, failing to meet deadlines can easily get you fired. 1. Here are a few best practices.
▪Assign deadlines to what matters.
If the task isn’t of high importance, don’t set a specific deadline. In this way, you are able to keep it on your radar for a while without feeling pressured. 2. This will provide just enough pressure to ensure you get it done.
▪ 3.
Set a personal deadline for yourself a day or two before the actual deadline. 4. If you’re working with a group of people, add in even more time to account for potential follow-ups and the need for approvals.
▪ Keep communicating.
5. This means letting others know when something is taking longer than expected, when a delivery didn’t come in, when a client is not providing the necessary information, etc. Although it may feel embarrassing to admit that something is not on schedule, being honest is much better for relieving your stress.
A. Plan for flexible hours.
B. Finish your project as early as possible.
C. But if an activity is urgent, set a deadline immediately.
D. In this way, you’ll never have to stay up late and feel stressed.
E. But handled properly, deadlines can actually improve productivity.
F. Whenever you feel challenged to finish work on time, communicate.
G. So if anything takes longer than expected, you can still wrap it up and submit it on time.
