For about three years now, I have been writing poetry. It was not until my junior year in high school that I developed an interest, love and skill for writing poetry.
Back in elementary school, I loved to write stories. I would write stories on post-it notes and anywhere I could. Yet when I had to write a limerick(五行打油诗) for an assignment, I could not wrap my head around poetry. I had a very hard time figuring out how to rhyme words and have the words make sense. I eventually tossed the paper with the attempted limerick in the trash. I did not try my hand at poetry again until several years later.
Many years later in my freshman year of high school, my English teacher gave my class a poetry project as an assignment. I still remember my limerick assignment and was afraid of doing the poetry project. For the project, we had to analyze a poem and write a response to it. I chose to respond to Robert Frost’s poem Fire and Ice. I also wrote my own poem first. I became really excited when writing the poem.
Two years later, I started writing poetry as a hobby and for fun. To learn how good or bad my poems were, I handed them in to some magazines and contests. I won second place in the North Carolina Poetry Society’s Sherry Pruitt Award Contest with a poem called The Ocean, and had my two poems published as high merit(优等) poems. I have continued to write poetry, and have even self-published three collections of poetry in both print and e-book formats, which can be found at my store on Lulu.
Now, I love writing poetry, but I don’t hate writing short stories. I just find it more difficult and not my style of writing, even though I still write short stories occasionally.When the author was a pupil, he ___________.
| A.liked writing stories |
| B.was good at writing poetry |
| C.could understand poetry well |
| D.was often praised by his teacher |
When given the poetry project in high school, the author was___________.
| A.excited | B.annoyed | C.confident | D.worried |
The author took up writing poetry as a hobby when he____________.
| A.was in Grade Three in high school |
| B.worked as a storekeeper |
| C.was in Grade One in high school |
D.was at college![]() |
How did the author increase his confidence in writing poetry?
| A.He wrote a lot of poems and asked advice from his teacher. |
| B.He published three collections of poetry by himself. |
| C.He submitted his poems to magazines and contests. |
| D.He gave up writing stories and only wrote poetry. |
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项。
A
There are no signs of little green men on Mars. But new discoveries offer a bit more hope that some form of life existed there in the past --- and perhaps is still there in the present. Methane gas(甲烷) and water have been found on the Red Plane. The presence of both suggests at least the possibility of life.
According to a new report in the journal, Science, the Mars rover, Curiosity, has detected spikes of methane in the Martian atmosphere. This gas is also found in the Earth’s atmosphere, and comes from animal and plant life, as well as from the environment itself. If there’s methane in Mar’s atmosphere, where is it coming from? Scientists aren’t sure. But it marks a big change. In September 2013, Curiosity found almost no traces of methane in the Martian air. Just weeks later, however, the rover picked up a whiff of(一点点) the gas.
The scientists don’t know whether the methane spikes are caused by some form of biological matter or by the geology of the planet. Christopher Chyba, a professor of astrophysics and international affairs at Princeton, says it’s best not to be too hopeful about biology on the Red Planet. “Hopes for biology on Mars have had a way of disappearing once Martian chemistry has been better understood,” he says. “But figuring out what’s responsible for the methane is clearly a key astrobiological objective --- whatever the answer turns out to be.”
The discovery of water on Mars is nothing new. For decades, scientists have had evidence that it flowed across the surface of the planet billions of years ago. But according to another new report in Science, while the surface water on Mars seems to be long gone, there’s a lot more of it left than most of people realize.
This report is also based on findings from Curiosity. Paul Mahaffy, of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, led the study. He says there is enough water on Mars “to cover the surface to a depth of about 165 feet.”
It is not easy to reach this water. Most of it is locked up in ice at the planet’s poles.Why do scientists think there might be life on Mars?
| A.Because the Mars rover has detected water on the planet. |
| B.Because there is evidence that little green men exist on the planet. |
| C.Because the Mars rover has found some plants on the planet. |
| D.Because both methane and water have been found on the planet. |
What is the attitude of professor Christopher Chyba towards life on Mars?
| A.Optimistic | B.Negative |
| C.Neutral | D.Indifferent |
The water on Mars _______________.
| A.still flows on its surface |
| B.covers the whole planet |
| C.is locked up in ice at the planet’s poles |
| D.only existed on it billions of years ago |
In which column of a website can we read this text?
| A.Culture | B.Entertainment |
| C.Science | D.Education |
E
Before we start a voyage, we usually try to find out more or less definitely where we are bound and how we are supposed to get there.
I happen to have the “Concise Oxford dictionary” on my desk and that will do as well as any other. The word I am looking for appears at the bottom of Page 344. edition 1912.
“Geography: the science of the earth's surface, form, physical features, natural and political divisions, climate, productions and population.”
I could not possibly hope to do better, but I still stress some of the aspects of the case at the expenses of others, because I intend to place man in the centre of the stage. This book of mine will not merely discuss the surface of the earth and its physical features, together with its political and natural boundaries. I would rather call it a study of man in search of food and shelter and leisure for himself and for his family and an attempt to his background or has reshaped his physical surroundings in order to be comfortable and well nourished and happy with his limited strength.
Among the two million human beings in the world, there is of course the widest possible range for all sorts of experiments of an economic and social and cultural nature. It seems that those experiments deserve our attention before anything else. For a mountain is after all merely a mountain until it has been seen by human eyes and has been walked on by human feet and until its slopes and valleys have been occupied and fought over and planted by a dozen generation of hungry settlers.
The Atlantic Ocean was just as wide and deep and as wet and salty before the beginning of the 13th century as after, but it took the human touch to make it what it is today—a bridge between the New World and the Old, the highway for the commerce between East and West.
For thousands of years the endless Russian plains lay ready to offer their abundant harvest to whoever should take the trouble to sow the first grain. But the aspect of that country today would he a very different one if the hand of a German or a Frank, rather than that of a Slav, had guided the iron-pointed stick that plowed the first furrows (犁沟).
The island of Nippon would shake and quake just as continually, whether they happened to be settled by Japanese or by the Tasmanian race, but in the latter case they would hardly be able to feed 60,000,000 people.
Generally speaking, I have paid more attention to the purely “human” side of geography than to the commercial problems which are so important in a day and age devoted to mass production.In the first four paragraphs, the author wants to share with the readers ______.
| A.his approach to planning a voyage |
| B.his emphasis on using a dictionary |
| C.his definition of the word “geography” |
| D.his altitude to the earth's physical features |
Which of the following will the author NOT consider to be on experiment according to Paragraph 5?
| A.Exploring a mountain. |
| B.Climbing a mountain. |
| C.Planting on slopes and valleys. |
| D.Becoming hungry. |
The author mentioned the Russian plains and the island of Nippon to show that _____.
| A.they both feed a lot of people |
| B.they enjoy very good natural conditions |
| C.different people may make the same place different |
| D.their natural conditions haven't changed for many years |
How is the passage organized?
| A.Topic ---Argument --- Explanation |
| B.Introduction --- Supporting examples --- Conclusion |
| C.Opinion --- Discussion --- Description |
| D.Main idea --- Comparison --- Supporting examples |
D
Once again, the time has come for the biggest event in the fashion world: New York Fashion Week! But do you know enough about this annual event to call yourself a true fashionista?
From seating arrangements to model behavior, here are some things you might not know about Fashion Week.
___________________
At Fashion Week, it’s where you sit that counts. A-list attendees include the fashion media, buyers, retailers, fashion professionals, celebrities and socialites, but who gets the coveted front-row seats comes down to the designers and their PR teams. Usually, it’s celebrities and important editors who get the best seats.
Why do models always look so unhappy?
Models usually parade along the runway with serious expressions on their faces. Well, it’s not that they’re too cool to smile. Most high fashion designers typically ask their models not to smile while walking down the runway. The idea is that audience members will concentrate on the fashion designs instead of the model’s face or personality. “It’s more than anything else about doing the job well,” supermodel Claudia Schiffer told Reuters.
How should Fashion Week attendees behave?
Designers appreciate it when attendees wear their brand to their show. Most design houses will even ensure that the celebrities are “appropriately” dressed in designer wear once they agree to attend.
Catwalk photographers hate it when the audience’s feet sully their pristine runway shots, so just as the lights go down, they scream a single message to the audience: “Uncross your legs, please!”
How do the Big Four fashion weeks differ?
The Big Four always take place in this order: New York, London, Milan and Paris. Each of the Big Four is known for championing different styles — New York for sportswear; London for edgy, avant-garde design; Milan for its over-the-top yet stylish looks; and Paris for haute couture.which of the following is the most suitable heading for the third paragraph?
| A.Who attends fashion week? |
| B.Who gets a first-row seat? |
| C.Which seats are the best? |
| D.What counts at the fashion week? |
why do models always look so unhappy/
| A.They are too cool to smile |
| B.They are used to wearing serious expressions. |
| C.Audience will focus on the fashion designs rather than models’faces. |
| D.They will be fined if they smile while parading. |
we can learn from the passage that ____.
| A.London fashion week is known for sportswear |
| B.Fashion week attendees can be dressed however they like |
| C.The audience can cross their legs all through the show |
| D.Celebrities and important editors usually sit in the front row |
The main purpose of the passage is to ____
A.A.Advertise some fashion designs
B.advise people to attend fashion week
C.Introduce some knowledge about fashion week
D.Tell fashion week attendees how to behave
C
Alice’s mother died when Alice was five years old. Alice, who grew up to be my mother, told me that after her mother’s death her family was too poor to even afford to give her a doll.
In December 2012, I had a job at a local bank. One afternoon, we were decorating the tree in the bank lobby(大厅). One of my customers approached me with her beautiful handmade dolls. I decided to get one for my daughter, Katie, who was almost five years old. Then I had an idea. I asked my customer if she could make me a special doll for my mother—one with gray hair and spectacles(眼镜): a grandmother doll. And she gladly agreed.
A friend had told me that his dad who played Santa Claus would be willing to make a visit on Christmas morning to our home to deliver my Katie her presents, so I made some special arrangements.
Christmas Day arrived and at the planned time; so did Santa Claus. Katie was surprised that Santa had come to see her at her own house. As Santa turned to leave, he looked once more into his bag and found one more gift. As he asked who Alice was, my mother, surprised at her name being called, indicated that she in fact was Alice. Santa handed her the gift, with a message card that read:
For Alice:
I was cleaning out my sleigh(雪橇) before my trip this year and came across this package that was supposed to be delivered on December 25,1953. The present inside has aged, but I felt that you might still wish to have it. Many apologies for the lateness of the gift.
Love,
Santa Claus
My mother’s reaction was one of the most deeply emotional scenes I have ever seen. She couldn’t speak but only held the doll she had waited fifty-nine years to receive as tears of joy ran down her cheeks. That doll, given by “Santa”, made my mother the happiest “child” that Christmas.Why couldn’t the writer’s mother have a doll when young ?_________.
| A.Santa Clause forgot to send the doll to her |
| B.her daughter couldn’t make a doll by herself |
| C.her parents left the doll in the Santa Clause’s sleigh |
| D.her family was badly off when she was a child |
What can be inferred from the passage ?__________.
| A.the writer’s father played the Father Christmas |
| B.the writer’s mother was already in her sixties when she received the doll |
| C.the writer urged one of her friends to make the doll for her mother |
| D.the Santa Clause was too careless to deliver the doll on time |
The best title for this passage could be __________.
| A.A Doll from Santa |
| B.An unforgettable Christmas |
| C.A considerate daughter |
| D.A help from Santa Claus |
B
“Will I be able to work until I’m 70?” Those were my first words when I learned in 2014, at the age of 50, that I had Parkinson’s disease. I had not planned for that question to pop out of my mouth, but it did. Perhaps I was worried about my money. The size of my retirement account makes early retirement seem impossible. But mainly I think I asked that question because work, for better or worse, has become central to my identity. The idea that my career as a historian would end soon felt truly disturbing.
As professors, we often complain about our jobs: we teach too much, we are paid too little, and the library needs more books. But I can’t imagine a better career. We teach young people, and we find the time to read and write about topics we love. We receive a degree of respect. Even my doctor calls me “Professor”.
And, most importantly, we have relative job security. When I received my diagnosis, my question about keeping my job was not ridiculous. In a market-based social system, the threat of job loss is terrifying. Imagine the pressure faced by a Parkinson’s sufferer with no job security. It could be disastrous for someone who needs manual dexterity at work, such as a construction worker.
In contrast, I am lucky: I have tenure(终身职位), which gives me a feeling of security that even popular entertainers may lack. Tenure does not guarantee me a job as long as I can perform y duties.
Will I be able to work until I’m 70? I think so. I know that my family and I will face new challenges, but I don’t expect a decline in my job performance. My students may find my appearance a bit odd, but if they do, then that will be a “teachable moment”.What did the author worry about first when he learned he was ill?
| A.He didn’t have enough money for an operation. |
| B.The disease would ruin his career. |
| C.He wouldn’t live until the age of 70. |
| D.He would be forced to retire early. |
According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A.Professors always complain about their jobs. |
| B.Professors have no time to do anything else but teach. |
| C.The author doesn’t know what he would do if he were not a professor. |
| D.The author thinks he is respected by others because of his work. |
The underlined phrase in the third paragraph, “manual dexterity” probably means _____________.
| A.the ability to use one’s hands |
| B.the ability to see clearly |
| C.the ability to use one’s mind |
| D.the ability to solve problems |
The best title for this passage is _________________________.
| A.Losing My Career to Illness |
| B.The Threat of Job Loss |
| C.Keep Away from Disease |
| D.The Pressure of Parkinson’s |