I was in my third year of teaching writing at Ralph High School in New York, when one of my students, 15-year-old Mikey, gave me a note from his mother. It explained his absence from class the day before:
"Dear Mr. McCort, Mikey's grandmother, who is eighty years of age, fell down the stairs from too much coffee and I kept Mikey at home to take care of her and his baby sister so I could go to my job. Please excuse Mikey and he'll do his best in the future. P.S. His grandmother is OK."
I had seen Mikey writing the note at his desk. l said nothing. Most parental-excuse notes I received were penned by my students. The writers of those notes didn't realize that honest excuse notes were usually boring: "Peter was late because the alarm clock didn't go off."
The students always said it was hard putting 200 words together on any subject, but when they produced excuse notes, they were excellent. So I decided to give the first class to study the art of the excuse note.
“Today I'd like you to write 'An Excuse Note from Adam to God' or 'An Excuse Note from Eve to God'. "Heads went down. Pens raced across paper. They had to be asked to go to lunch by their friends.
The next day everyone had excuse notes. Heated discussions followed. But suddenly I saw the headmaster at the door. He entered the classroom and walked up and down, looking at papers, and then said. "I'd like you to see me in my office." My heart sank,
When I stepped into his office, he came to shake my hand and said, "I just want to tell you that lesson, that task, was great. Those kids were writing on the college level. Thank you."What did the writer do when he found the students dishonest?
| A．He reported them to the headmaster. |
| B．He lectured them hard on honesty. |
| C．He had them take notes-n class. |
| D．He helped improve their writing skills. |
We can learn that when Mikey was absent from the class, he was____.
| A．somewhere enjoying himself |
| B．taking care of his baby sister |
| C．looking after his grandmother |
| D．studying the art of the excuse note |
How did the writer usually find out his students' parental excuse notes were dishonest?
| A．They were written in boring words. |
| B．He called their parents and found out the truth. |
| C．They were more like stories than facts. |
| D．The handwriting clearly looked like children's. |
Which of the following is true?
| A．The writer has many years of teaching experience. |
| B．The students are good at writing excuse notes. |
| C．The headmaster was angry with the writer. |
| D．Most of the excuse notes were written by the parents. |
Which of the following best describes the writer as a teacher?
| A．Honest. | B．Strict. | C．Hardworking. | D．Wise. |
Bruce Kelley,a reporter interviewed people and asked, "What are some of the highlights（最精彩的部分）of your life so far？" Here are some of her answers.
|
Janie，35，Canada：high school teacher "Oh.I've been pretty lucky up until now.For one thing,I've traveled a lot.I lived in Italy a few years ago.Then after Italy，I went to Central America and worked with a team of volunteers.We were rebuilding homes after a major earthquake for two months.It was hard work but so worth doing.Life has been interesting so far. " |
|
Marcos，25，Brazil：college student "Um，I've done some interesting things in the last few years.I started a band the year before last，though it didn't last we broke up after six months.But it was fun.And I've been coaching a soccer team in a local primary school for the last two years.We've won most of our matches. " |
|
Jing Wei 25 and Sheng Yang 27，China：designer and graduate student "Well，Sheng Yang hasn't really done anything except study over the last few years.We met when he was getting his master's in college.Then Sheng started his PhD.Since then，he's just been giving all his attention to school" "Jing Wei began working at a fashion company last year.That was a big thing for her.She's been enjoying it so far." |
（1）It seems to be a real highlight for in volunteering according to the text.
| A． |
Janie |
| B． |
Jing Wei |
| C． |
Marcos |
| D． |
Sheng Yang |
（2）From the text above，we can know that .
| A． |
Janie joined in rebuilding homes in Italy after an earthquake |
| B． |
Marcos has been learning to play soccer for two years |
| C． |
Sheng Yang has been working for a few years |
| D． |
Jing Wei got a job at a fashion company last year |
（3）The text is probably from the column（栏目） of in a magazine.
| A． |
Life |
| B． |
Travel |
| C． |
Science |
| D． |
Sports |
Getting English Language Learners to Put Down the Books and Have Some Fun
Even if there's so much about English that can be learned from a book or even in a traditional classroom setting，a lot of the language can still be learned best in more relaxing situations where students are having fun.Here are some suggestions.
★Communicate with strangers.If you live in an area filled with English speakers，get students out of the classroom.（1） .Students may not speak to strangers，but they'll hear conversations taking place and may begin to understand how the words learnt in the classroom are actually used in everyday speech.
★Let their guard down.One difficult thing for learners is confidence （自信）when they speak English.Fun activities，especially those outside of the classroom，give students a chance to feel relaxed.（2） .It may take a bit of time at the beginning，but once students get into it，they'll start to get confidence.
★Make use of English media （媒体）.Most recorded language instruction is pretty boring and it can get tiring hearing the same voice repeat the same phrases.（3） .They will hear common expressions and more everyday conversations in the movie.If they're not sure about something they hear，it can turn into a more formal lesson once back in the classroom.
★（4） .Casual （随意的）conversations give learners the chance to hear or use English in situations.They can talk all they want about expressions to use while dining out or informal words to use with friends，but it takes a trip to McDonald's or a picnic in the park for many of those expressions to truly set in.
| A． |
You can let students go to a movie in English. |
| B． |
Put them among other English speakers. |
| C． |
They may hate to speak English. |
| D． |
Hear or use English in situations. |
| E． |
They will speak more freely. |
（5）How do you learn English？ （回答不多于10个单词）
Visiting outer space is still a far dream for anyone who isn't an astronaut，but a day trip to the stars is already open for people to order!
A new company （公司），Space Perspective，is planning tests with passengers.It has big plans to run up to 500 flights from different places across the USA by 2024.If successful，reaching the outer side of space could be as easy as flying abroad in a few years' time.The plan will be for spacemen and up to eight passengers to travel in Neptune，a capsule （太空舱）tied to a balloon the size of a football field.
They will move slowly upwards right to the side of space，30 km away from the Earth.There，space tourists will be able to look back at the Earth and out to dark space and the sight of millions of stars.Although the price is yet to be fixed，the expensive flight，which will take six hours，is likely to cost over £100 000.Because the capsule remains within the Earth's atmosphere （大气层），no special clothing or training are needed.It means that older people or those with health problems will be included.
One problem may be the method of landing back on the Earth.The balloon moves back down from space until it falls down in the sea.Passengers，spacemen，capsule and balloon are then gotten back by ship.
Now Neptune faces competition from the Stratollite a balloon being developed by a company called World View Enterprises，while the super rich Richard Branson，Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are all pouring money into developing business space flying machines.The advantage of the balloon is that it will be cheaper than a space plane or rocket.
Space travel may soon be a reality （现实），but how visitors get there is still a very open question.
（1）We can see from the passage that Space Perspective .
| A． |
has completed over 500 tests |
| B． |
wants to use Neptune to carry people |
| C． |
has quite a long history |
| D． |
makes it easier for us to fly abroad |
（2）According to Space Perspective's plan，space tourists .
| A． |
should wear special clothing |
| B． |
will land back on the ground |
| C． |
can watch the Earth from space |
| D． |
must keep in good health |
（3）The writer implies （暗示）in the passage that .
| A． |
the race to get tourists into space is becoming hot |
| B． |
there will be only four ways for visitors to reach space |
| C． |
the Stratollite is popular with space passengers |
| D． |
Richard，Jeff and Elon are all short of money |
（4）The passage can usually be read in the part of ad in a newspaper.
| A． |
Culture |
| B． |
Business |
| C． |
Health |
| D． |
Science |
Dmitry Doronin，a doctoral student from Russia，is keen （热衷的）to share his experience in rural villages in Zhejiang with his 1.4 million followers online.
Since Dmitry started to live in the countryside last August，the 32 ﹣year﹣old has created hundreds of video clips that record the relaxing lifestyle in Hengzhang village，Lishui city."The rice is grown in the fields together with fish，which helps to increase local agricultural （农业的）products，" said Dmitry，while introducing products from Hengzhang village on the popular Chinese short﹣videos platform Douyin，Besides filming videos，Dmitry also enjoys working with farmers in the fields，doing activities such as planting vegetables and feeding chickens.
Living in a village provides him with uniqueexperiences，he says，quite different from busy life in big cities，such as Shanghai，where he studies.And he has been a pleasant surprise to the villagers as well.Villager Bao Mingyue，76，says，"To our surprise，the young Russian not only knows how to cook Chinese food but is interested in working in the fields."
Because of the outbreak of COVID﹣19，the sales of local agricultural products had dropped rapidly，so Dmitry volunteered to help sell the products in his videos.In a few months，10，000 kilograms of oranges，4，000 kilograms of dried sweet potatoes and 300 kilograms of honey had been sold.
"Thanks to his videos，it seems that more tourists have come to visit our village，"says 72﹣year﹣ old Pan Xianyu，who is very pleased to see the great changes in her hometown，Dmitry loves his country life，"In the countryside，you can immerse （沉浸）yourself in the traditional way of life and understand this country better，" he says.
According to Dmitry，some Russians' opinions about China are still out of date，although China has progressed greatly."I would like to become a people to people envoy （使者）of friendship between the two countries by using the Internet，" he says.
（1）It can be learnt from the passage that Dmitry .
| A． |
has lived in the countryside for years |
| B． |
is good at catching fishes |
| C． |
C gets much attention on the Internet |
| D． |
sells farmers' products in Russia |
（2）The underlined word"unique" probably means" ".
| A． |
common |
| B． |
special |
| C． |
similar |
| D． |
hard |
（3）The purpose of Paragraph 4 and Paragraph 5 is to .
| A． |
show Dmitry's influence on Hengzhang village |
| B． |
advise people to buy the products of Hengzhang village |
| C． |
make more tourists interested in Hengzhang village |
| D． |
explain why the sale of sweet potatoes dropped |
（4）Dmitry hopes to help Russians to .
| A． |
improve their lives more quickly |
| B． |
have a better understanding of China |
| C． |
study Chinese traditional way of life |
| D． |
make rapid progress in farming |
It's been 100 years since the actor and filmmaker Charlie Chaplin produced the film The Kid ，which many consider to be his greatest one.
Like all films at the time，The Kid was made in black and white and was silent （made without any sound，not even the characters talking）.The story is about the relationship between " the Tramp"，played by Chaplin，and his adopted （领养的）child，played by Jackie Coogan.The pair develop a partnership where the six year﹣old boy breaks windows and runs away，so that Chaplin's character can offer his services as a window fixer.
Although the film is a comedy，it also has some tragedy，reflecting Chaplin's own life.He started testing actors for the role of the Kid just a few days after his baby son had died.Chaplin was known for being hard to please，and it is said that if he could，he would have played every role in every one of his films.When Chaplin visited a theatre，a dancer brought his son，Jackie Coogan，on stage，and Chaplin knew he had his co﹣star （联袂主演者）.Chaplin later wrote， "All children in some form have talents；the trick is to bring it out in them.With Jackie it was easy.
Like the Kid in the film，Chaplin and his brother Sydney grew up very poor.They lived in London and were raised by their mother.When Chaplin was 10 years old，his mum became too ill to loo after her sons，so they had to take care of themselves.He later wrote that the film sets in The Kid were based （基于）on the places where he and Sydney had lived with their mother as children. "Perhaps that's why the film had some truth，" he said.
（1）The second paragraph mainly talks about .
| A． |
why The Kid was made |
| B． |
when The Kid was on |
| C． |
how The Kid got successful |
| D． |
what The Kid is about |
（2）We can infer from Paragraph 3 that Jackie Coogan .
| A． |
always visited the theatre alone |
| B． |
was possibly talented in acting |
| C． |
knew much about Chaplin before |
| D． |
played every role in Chaplin's films |
（3）Which of the following is TRUE about Chaplin？
| A． |
He had a poor childhood experience. |
| B． |
He was brought up by his father. |
| C． |
He looked after his mother very well. |
| D． |
He produced films with his brother. |
（4）What's the best title for the passage？
| A． |
A film about a dancer. |
| B． |
A family in London. |
| C． |
A place for film making. |
| D． |
A life on film. |
