We’re always looking for well-written reviews of books, music, movies, television shows, websites, video games and other products. When writing a review, concentrate on exactly what you liked or didn’t like. Give examples of strengths and weaknesses, be descriptive and provide background information on an author, director, actor or musician, if possible. Find professional reviews in magazines or newspapers and see how reviewers deal with their topic, but be sure to express your own voice in your review.
Grammar Hint for Reviews: When describing a book, movie, album or anything else, use the present tense.
Book Reviews
Discuss an author’s technique, strengths and weaknesses instead of focusing on the plot. Does the story flow? Is there a strong sense of character and place? Did you stay up until dawn to finish it? Is it good reading for teenagers? What influence did it have on you and why? If you’ve read other books by the same author, discuss how this book compares.
Movie Reviews
Think of the major Oscar categories and consider the performances, music, lighting and setting, etc. Do these work together? Did some hold up while others didn’t? If the movie is based on a book, discuss whether one is better than the other and why. If the movie is a remake, compare the film to its original.
Remember that a well-written movie review should discuss strengths and weaknesses. Some readers may not have seen a movie yet, so don’t give away an exciting scene or the ending!
College Reviews
Begin by providing an overview of the college, including location, size and a description of the campus and/or dorm life. Think about all aspects of your college visit. What academic, athletic and after-class programs are available? What are the students like? What makes the college different from others? Every school has strengths and weaknesses. Be objective. Consider what the school has to offer and who might enjoy or benefit the most from attending there.
1.When writing a review, you ________.
A. cannot refer to any previous review
B. must express your own views and opinions
C. must provide some information about the author
D. needn’t give any examples to support your views
2.Which aspects should be included in all three reviews?
A. Strengths and weaknesses.
B. Plot and character.
C. Programs and scenes.
D. Location and description.
3.Where can you probably find the passage?
A. In a personal diary.
B. In an official report.
C. In a tourist guidebook.
D. In a popular magazine.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
My grandmother Adele loved culture and was generous with its gifts. When I was a child, she took me to museums, restaurants, dances. She showered me with gifts from her travels around the world. But I can only remember her giving me one book—a book that, to this day, I have not read. She presented me with her own favorite childhood book: Hans Brinker. My grandmother was happy to share this book with me. She even decorated the title page with her proud writing.
I tried to read it. I adored reading, and would dive into a new pile of books from the library all at once. But something about Hans Brinker just wouldn’t let me in. The story was set in Holland, a long time ago. It felt dull and unfamiliar—even though I was a fan of classics of other times and places. I simply read the first pages over and over. I could not progress.
Standing on a bookshelf in our living room, the book was like something I avoided. It scolded me for not being interested, for not trying hard enough, for disappointing my grandmother.
The book started to fit in, almost forgotten, until Adele asked. Had I read it? Did I like it? Always determined, she wanted to know the answer. I would make some kind of excuse, feel bad, and open it again, hoping for a new reaction. The book weighed on me.
Years passed and finally Adele and I both accepted that I would never read Hans Brinker. Eventually I cleared the book from the shelf. The Hans Brinker experience led me to set a rule that I’ve lived by ever since: Do not ask about a book given as a gift. Don’t ask, despite your desire to discuss it to grow closer. The desire for such connection is what gives book-giving with special meaning—and increases the owner’s possibility to be a letdown.
Guilt is basically the same as for all gifts, though. If the giver doesn’t have the pleasure of seeing or hearing about the gift being enjoyed, and asks whether it is, then the owner—unless she can truthfully say “yes”—either has to admit to not liking the present, or else lie on the spot. Neither is pleasant. So, don’t ask.
1.When the author was a kid, his grandmother ________.
A. took him to travel around the world a lot
B. loved to take him to museums and stores
C. shared her childhood stories with him
D. gave him many gifts
2.What does the author think about the book his grandmother gave him?
A. Boring. B. Interesting.
C. Puzzling. D. Disappointing.
3.The underlined sentence “The book weighed on me” in Paragraph 4 probably means _______.
A. the book is too heavy for the author to carry
B. the author feels stressful facing the book
C. the book is full of powerful viewpoints
D. the author keeps reading the book
4.The author learns from the Hans Brinker’s experience that never________.
A. give others books as gifts
B. lie to people who give you gifts
C. get close to others through gifts
D. talk about the books given as gifts
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
We live in a sweet world. The average American kid consumes more than 20 teaspoons of sugar per day, and adults eat 50% more sugar today than they did in the 1970s. We all know that too much sugar isn’t good for you. But did we know it could be dangerous? A team of researchers at the University of Utah used mice to conduct a study on the negative effects of sugar. They found it could have serious effects on people’s health.
Sugar is found not only in sweets and candies, but also in many household items like pasta and crackers.
During the 58-week-long study, mice were fed a diet containing 25% more sugar. This percentage equals a healthy human diet along with three cans of soda daily. The team found that these mice were twice as likely to die as mice fed a similar diet without the sugar. Though the mice did not show signs of obesity or high blood pressure, male mice were 26% less territorial and produced 25% fewer offspring than the other mice.
Scientists often use mice for research because they have a similar genetic（基因） structure to humans. “Since most substances that are dangerous in mice are also dangerous in people, it’s likely that those physical problems that cause those mice to have increased deaths also work in people,” says study author James Ruff of the University of Utah. Findings from this study reveal negative effects that are not as noticeable as weight gain or heart problems. Sugar can contribute to long-term changes in the body that can change development and even shorten lives.
Cutting sugar out of the American diet altogether may be difficult. But making the effort to control our nation’s sugar desire will provide for a truly sweeter future.
1.The study conducted by researchers aimed at learning about________
A. the advantages and disadvantages of sugar
B. the negative effects of sugar on people’s health
C. the genetic structure of mice
D. American’s diet
2.According to the study, which of the following statements is wrong?
A. Sugar can even shorten lives.
B. Sugar’s negative effects are not noticeable.
C. Mice are more likely to die when fed a diet containing 25% more sugar.
D. Eating much more sugar can make mice put on weight and get high blood pressure.
3.From the passage we can infer_______
A. sugar plays a very important role in Americans’ diet
B. kids consume more sugar than adults in America
C. the study on human beings lasted 58 weeks
D. the genetic structure of mice is totally different from that of people
4.What’s the best title of the passage?
A. Living a sweet life
B. Kids consume much more sugar
C. Genetic structure of humans
D. Danger of sugar
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
It is true that world population is growing, but this is not the cause of our current and future global problems. Believing this will cause us to ignore the real problem and risk long-term damage to our planet.
Let me start by explaining why overpopulation is a myth. For one thing, the UN Population Division regularly predicts population growth but provides a low variant (变量), medium variant, and high variant to factor in various possibilities. In the 2010 revision, their high variant suggests that the world population will be almost 16 billion in 2100, but the low variant predicts it will peak at 8 billion and decrease to just over 6 billion by 2100. In most cases, it is the low variant that has come true in the past, suggesting the same will be true of their future population predictions. In addition to this, the size of families is actually decreasing.
For another, if the Earth is overpopulated, there needs to be insufficient (短缺) food, water, and space for humans to live. However, Indian economist Raj Krishna estimates that India alone is able to increase crop produce to the point of providing the entire world’s food supply. The World Food Programme confirms that there is sufficient food grown to feed the world and there is the same amount of fresh water on the planet now as there was 10,000 years ago. So how is it possible that the number of people in the world is affecting our planet?
Therefore, it is not an increase in population but an increase in consumption that is a severe threat. Materialism and overconsumption are facts of life for everybody in the western world, as possessions reflect a person’s status in society and people strive to obtain happiness through owning the latest fashionable goods. Not only that, but waste is a common occurrence which has a huge effect on our resources. It is a sad truth that 80% of the world’s resources are currently used by just 20% of the world’s population.
Our overconsumption must be addressed now to make our lives more sustainable (可持续的) and avoid continuing the terrible damage to the environment we are causing. The key is education. If we do not work towards this but instead focus on the wrong issue, we may find ourselves living on a planet that can no longer sustain human life.
1.According to the author, what causes our current and future global problems?
A. The increase in population.
B. Shortage of food and water.
C. The fast growth of material needs.
D. Failure to protect the environment.
2.The underlined word “myth” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to _________.
A. fact B. misunderstanding C. possibility D. uncertainty
3.The author stresses that _____.
A. people should save food and water
B. economists are making wrong predictions
C. wrong judgment leads to serious consequences
D. measures should be taken to reduce population
4.What is mainly discussed in the passage?
A. The real cause of global problems.
B. The severe effect of overpopulation.
C. Reasonable use of natural resources.
D. Methods to reduce overconsumption.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
Lots of people give you advice on overcoming fear. ____1.___ However, I want to tell you that a world without fear would be more dangerous, less rewarding. So we want to treat fear as a friend. Here are three reasons.
____2.___ Think about it. Do you get more nervous when you meet the girl (or guy) of your dreams? Which is more fearful, talking to the boss of your company or to some of your friends? ___3.____ If you didn’t have fear to guide you, you might not know that! Not so bad, right?
Next, fear encourages us to take action. Fear is a call to action. In the past, our ancestors (祖先) didn’t run away in fear when they saw a tiger running toward them but tried to kill it for food. Now, most of us don’t face serious danger like hungry tigers every day, but we do face serious bosses or public speaking. So, what can we do? ___4.____ .
Lastly, fear lets you know you are alive. Why do we like roller coasters (过山车)? ____5._____ Same for horror movies.
So fear can guide you towards what’s important for you and encourage you to take action to improve your situation. Don’t we all need that kind of friend?
A. The first is that fear is an excellent guide to opportunity.
B. Don’t fear to be wrong.
C. They say if you can overcome fear, you will be successful.
D. It frightens us in a mostly safe way.
E. Imagine what life would be like without fear.
F. Fear is showing you what is important and what matters to you.
G. Let fear provide us with the energy to do what needs to be done.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
完型填空
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
The Hard Truth
One day, Marissa noticed a spider(蜘蛛) web, shining in the sunlight. A spider was spinning webs on it. The spider wasn’t trying to be something else, like a butterfly or a bee, Marissa thought. It was happy to be exactly what it was and to do what it was good at.
What came naturally to Marissa was_________. She could paint or draw all day long and never get bored. However, a few weeks ago Marissa signed________for high jump. Because her mother had been a high jump star in school, she thought it would make her mother happy. But now she________ that however hard she worked, she would never be a high jump star like her mother.
One night, halfway through her homework, Marissa fell________ .When she woke up, the clock __________1:00 A.M. Marissa got into a panic. There was still so much________ to do, but she really needed her rest for track（田径） practice. Marissa had always been a good student, but now track was risking her________ .
Then a dark thought ____________ Marissa’s mind. If she ________some of her classes, she would be off the track team. That was one way to solve her problem.
After a week of ________ her homework, letters had been mailed out to parents listing grades, and Marissa knew the letters would show that her grades had ________ a lot. She walked home with slow heavy steps, knowing her ________ plan had _________.
Just as Marissa had expected, her mother was waiting with the letter in her hand. “What’s happening to your grades? And more importantly, what’s happening to you?” she asked.
With tears in her eyes, Marissa admitted her ________ . “I only joined the track team to make you proud of me. I hated it, ________ I didn’t want to disappoint you. I thought if I were failing in my classes, Coach would kick me off the team. What a ________ I’ve made of everything.”
Marissa watched her mother’s face turn from anger to________. “Marissa, I was always proud of you. You didn’t need to do the high jump to make me happy. Now you have a lot of hard work in front of you because you made a bad ________.”
Marissa thought again about the spider. She realized she had lost sight of her ________ and twisted her web. Now she had to go back and ________ that web.
1.A. music B. art C. sport D. dance
2.A. up B. off C. over D. down
3.A. realized B. wondered C. insisted D. remembered
4.A. ill B. silent C. asleep D. apart
5.A. read B. says C. wrote D. hit
6.A. homework B. research C. housework D. practice
7.A. health B. life C. grades D. images
8.A. occurred B. took C. crossed D. appeared
9.A. gave B. attended C. took D. failed
10.A. completingB. copying C. ignoring D. preparing
11.A. risen B. dropped C. improved D. meant
12.A. perfect B. ugly C. simple D. serious
13.A. worked B. made C. stopped D. carried
14.A. feeling B. weakness C. secret D. excuse
15.A. and B. so C. or D. but
16.A. surprise B. scare C. mess D. joke
17.A. delight B. concern C. embarrassment D. disappointment
18.A. speech B. stop C. jump D. choice
19.A. balance B. example C. purpose D. success
20.A. rebuild B. break C. find D. review
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
结合句子用所给单词的适当形式填空或根据汉语意思填空。
1.I’m skeptical _____ the result of the survey.
2.How many __________(explain) are given for the disappearance of the dinosaurs?
3.If you throw light_____ something, you make it easier to understand.
4.The red dragon which appears on the Welsh flag is a positive symbol, _______(indicate) strength and a sense of national identity.
5.In Chinese culture, dragons are _______(慷慨的) and wise, although they can be unpredictable.
6.The Chinese refer to their language ___ Han, as it became popular during the Han Dynasty.
7.His first book, the Elementary Spelling Book, suggested_______(simple) the spelling of English words.
8.It is the best lecture that I ______(attend) since I came to this school.
9.I’d like to watch the news on CNN. It ______(start) at eight o’ clock.
10.We have really everything ____ common with America nowadays, except of course, language.
11.The other two areas ______ the two varieties differ are spelling and pronunciation.
12.Do Chinese people from different regions have problems_______ (understand) each other?
13.The Irish writer Bernard Shaw made the famous remark ______ the British and the Americans are two nations divided by a common language.
14.The British _______(批评) the dictionary, but it quickly became a standard reference book in the States.
15.By the end of last week, we______ (learn) ten lessons.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
短文改错
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.
Yesterday morning, I was surprising to hear that my best friend Allee has been hit by a car and was in hospital. The other day when he was going to cross a street,he was such careful that he didn’t go until he saw the traffic light to turn green. But hardly had he got to the middle of the street while he saw a car suddenly appear on his right-hand side and come directly towards them. It was too late for Allee to escape. He was hit by the car or was thrown a few meters away. He was sent to the nearest hospital immediately and had operation. When I went to see him, he was out of dangers but still looked pale. I sincere hope he will recover and return to normal as soon as possible.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
书面表达
假设你是李华， 你校学生会准备举办一次元宵节晚会。请你代表学生会给交换生Mike 发一封英文邀请函。主要内容包括：
1. 活动时间：1月22日晚7点到9点
2. 活动地点：铁人广场
3. 活动内容：赏灯、品尝元宵、猜灯谜等
注意：1. 词数100左右 2. 适当增加细节，使行文连贯；
参考词汇： 元宵节：Lantern Festival， 灯笼:lantern, 元宵：sweet dumpling 灯谜： lantern riddle
难度: 中等查看答案及解析