People from every corner flooded into the streets that Christmas Eve. "Frosty the Snowman," and "Jingle Bells" ______ in stores; on the pavements, the street singers performed happily. Everyone, was ______ by someone else, delighted and cheerful. I was alone.
As one of 8 kids of a Brazilian family, brought up in America’s crowded apartment, I’d spent several years searching for aloneness. Now, _____, at 27, a college student after the _______ with my girlfriend , every cell inside me wanted to be alone, ______ not at Christmas. My family had ______ to Brazil and my friends were ______ with their own lives. Dusk was approaching, and the fact that I had to return to my ______ home made me sad. Lights from windows blinked, and I hoped someone would ______ from one of those homes to invite me inside with a Christmas tree decorated with shiny fake snow and _______presents.
At a market, I felt more ______ when people were buying lots of goods, which ______ the gifts we received as children in my mind . I missed my family and wanted to cry for wanting to be alone and for having achieved it.
Outside the church , a manger (小耶稣) had been set ________. I stood with others watching the scene, some of them _______ themselves, praying. As I walked home, I realized that leaving Brazil was still a ______experience as I struggled with what I had become in 15 years in America. I’d mourned the _______, but for the first time, I recognized what I’d gained. I was independent, _______ and healthy. My life was still ahead, full of______.
Sometimes the best gift is the one that you give yourself. That Christmas, I gave myself ______ for what I’d obtained up to now and promise to go forward. It is the best gift I’ve ever got, the one that I most _______.
1.A. shared B. played C. served D. held
2.A. accompanied B. employed C. attended D. supported
3.A. usually B. extremely C. really D. eventually
4.A. breakup B. date C. sympathy D. concern
5.A. so B. but C. and D. or
6.A. moved B. slipped C. came D. returned
7.A. pleased B. satisfied C. occupied D. bored
8.A. shabby B. empty C. warm D. cozy
9.A. turn up B. hang out C. go away D. break in
10.A. dealt B. discounted C. wrapped D. donated
11.A. tired B. nervous C. excited D. upset
12.A. called up B. called for C. called on D. called in
13.A. down B. up C. aside D. about
14.A. hugging B. bowing C. crossing D. bending
15.A. great B. joyful C. painful D. potential
16.A. cases B. limits C. losses D. worries
17.A. lonely B. educated C. shy D. wealthy
18.A. possibility B. sight C. sadness D. hardship
19.A. surprise B. defeat C. prize D. credit
20.A. select B. value C. save D. admit
Persuasion is the art of convincing someone to agree with you. According to the ancient Greeks，there are three basic tools of persuasion：ethos，pathos，and logos.
Ethos is a speakers way of convincing the audience that she is trustworthy，honest and reliable. One common way a speaker can develop ethos is by explaining how much experience or education she has in the field. After all，you’re more likely to listen to advice about how to take care of your teeth from a dentist than a fireman. A speaker can also create ethos by convincing the audience that she is a good person. If an audience cannot trust you，you will not be able to persuade them.
Pathos is a speaker’s way of connecting with an audience’s emotions. For example，a politician who is trying to convince an audience to vote for him might say that he alone can save the country from a terrible war. These words are intended to fill the audience with fear，thus making them support him. Similarly，an animal charity might show an audience pictures of injured dogs and cats，to make the viewers feel pity. If the audience feels bad for the animals，they will be more likely to donate money.
Logos is the use of facts，statistics，or other evidence to support your argument. An audience will be more likely to believe you if you have convincing data to back up your claims. Presenting this evidence is much more persuasive than simply saying "believe me".
Although ethos，pathos，and logos all have their strengths，they are often most effective when used together. Indeed，most speakers use a combination of ethos，pathos，and logos to persuade their audiences. So，the next time you listen to a speech，watch a commercial，or listen to a friend try to convince you to lend him some money，be on the lookout for these ancient Greek tools of persuasion.
1.Why does the author say persuasion is an art？ ______
A. They both entertain the audience.
B. They both require great skills to achieve.
C. They both demand full attention from the audience.
D. They were both common topics of ancient Greek writers.
2.How is a speaker able to show her ethos to the audience？ ______
A. By expressing her sympathy with the audience.
B. By telling the audience about her personal preference.
C. By using beautiful language to make her statements attractive.
D. By showing her knowledge and experience relating to the topic.
3.What can we learn about the three aspects of persuasion？ ______
A. Ethos is the most important aspect of persuasion.
B. Each aspect has a different effect on the audience.
C. Honesty is the key to making your arguments believable.
D. Political leaders mostly use pathos to persuade their audience.
4.An advertisement for washing powder which claims that “scientific tests show that our powder kills 95% of all bacteria” is mainly using ______ .
A. ethos B. pathos
C. logos D. a combination of all three
Cigarette ends are everywhere — littering our streets and beaches — and for decades they’ve been thought of as "unrecyclable". But a New Jersey based company，called TerraCycle，has taken on the challenge，and has come up with a way to recycle millions of cigarette ends and turn them into industrial plastic products. Its aim is to recycle things that people normally consider impossible to reuse.
Obviously it would be even better for the environment if everyone just stopped smoking，but the statistics show that although there has been an increase in anti-smoking ads and messaging，between 2000 and 2014，global sales of cigarettes increased by 8 percent，and a whole lot of those cigarette ends are ending up as trash. Since most of our litter eventually ends up in waterways，cigarette ends can surely pollute the surrounding environment. "It only takes a single cigarette end to pollute a liter of water," TerraCycle founder，Tom Szaky，said. "Animals can also mistake littered cigarette ends for food. "
So how do you go about turning all those poisonous ends into something useful? TerraCycle does this by first breaking them down into separate parts. They mix the remaining materials，such as the tobacco and the paper，with other kinds of rubbish，and use it on non-agricultural land，such as golf courses. The filters(过滤嘴) are a little harder. To recycle these，TerraCycle first makes them clean and cuts them into small pieces，and then combines them with other recycled materials，making them into liquid for industrial plastic products.
They’re now also expanding their recycling offerings to the rest of the 80 percent of household waste that currently can’t be recycled，such as chocolate packaging，pens，and mobile phones. The goal is to use the latest research to find a way to stop so much waste ending up in landfill(垃圾填埋)，and then get companies to provide money for the process. And so far，it’s working.
"We haven’t found anything that we can’t recycle，"communications director of TerraCycle，Albe Zakes，said. "But with the amount and variety of packaging and litter in the world，we are always looking for new waste streams to address. "
1.What does TerraCycle intend to do？
A. Search for recyclable materials for use.
B. Deal with as many cigarette ends as possible.
C. Produce new kinds of industrial plastic products.
D. Recycle what used to be considered unrecyclable.
2.The underlined word "trash" in Paragraph 2 probably means ________.
A. rubbish B. poison
C. disaster D. ruin
3.What does Paragraph 3 mainly talk about？
A. The effective use of cigarette ends. B. The process of recycling cigarette ends.
C. The difficulty in recycling cigarette ends. D. The reason for breaking down cigarette ends.
4.What Albe said in the last paragraph implies that ________.
A. there is more and more waste to be recycled
B. it is difficult for TerraCycle to recycle everything
C. TerraCycle is trying to meet the challenge of new waste
D. TerraCycle has successfully recycled a large amount of waste
Plan on traveling around the USA this summer? If you need help in arranging the trip, or want ideas about where to go and what to do, there are a number of outstanding websites that can make your American dream come true.
http://byways. org
The National Scenic Byways Program covers 150 memorable roads. Some are natural routes, such as Route 1 along the California coast. Others focus on history (such as Route 6) or man-made attractions (the Las Vegas Strip). For each，you are provided with a map，told the route′s length and how long is allowed，and given detailed suggestions on sights and stop-offs.
www.oyster.com
This is the best website for reviews of hotels in US cities and resorts. The reviews are impressively thorough，covering locations，rooms，cleanliness，food and so on. Importantly，these are not promotional photos by the hotels，but more honest and real ones taken by inspectors. Search facilities are excellent. From the 243 hotels reviewed in the New York，you can narrow down what you are looking for by locations，facilities and styles，or just pick out a selection of the best.
www. 101usaholidays.co.uk
This is the latest offering that features 101 holiday ideas to the USA. It’s an impressively diverse selection，ranging from touring in the footsteps of Martin Luther King to a golfing break in Arizona and a cycling and wine-tasting trip in California’s Napa Valley. Narrow down what you are looking for — whether by price，region，theme and who will be traveling — and then just the photos of the relevant holidays remain on view. It′s a really clever design.
www.mousesavers.com
Walt Disney World in California can make dreams come true，but the price is not affordable for the majority of people. So turn to long established Mousesavers.com，dedicated to giving big discounts on tickets，hotels and dining at Walt Disney World. The website also offers general money-saving tips，suggestions for cheap and free stuff and brief coverage of other Florida and California theme parks.
1.If you are going to the USA for the man-made attractions，you can drive along ________.
A. Route 1 B. Route 6
C. the Las Vegas Strip D. the California coast
2.Why are the photos of the hotels in US cities and resorts real in www. oyster. Com?
A. Because there are qualifications of the authority.
B. Because they are taken by inspectors of the website.
C. Because there are comments of customers on each photo.
D. Because they were taken by customers who once lived there.
3.Travel ideas for a big family with kids and the old are available at ________.
A. www.oyster.com B. http://byways.org
C. www. mousesavers.com D. www.101usaholidays.co.uk
你是交流生Li Ming，在加拿大期间得到了加拿大同学Bob的很多热心帮助，但回国时把Bob曾借他德贝多芬交响乐的CD(CD of Beethoven's symphonies)放在行李箱拿了回来，给他写一封道歉信。
对在加拿大期间Bob的帮助表示感谢
告知CD事件，并用快递(Express Mail Service)寄回CD
因此造成的不便向他道歉
Dear Bob,
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours sincerely,
Li Ming
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：在缺词处加一个漏词符号(^)，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：在错的词下画一横线，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。
My favorite proverb is “A friend in need is a friend indeed.” It mean that true friends always come to you when you’re in trouble. Last term, my father met with a traffic accident, but his right leg got injured seriously. Consequently, he received the operation and I had to look after him in the hospital. Learned about this, Li Lei was offered to take care of my father without hesitation. He also helped me make up for my lessons. Thank to his help and inspiration, I went through the difficulty period and regained confidence. However, a true friend always spares no effort help you when you are in trouble. We all should try to make so good friends.
