Write a winning story!

         You could win £1,000 in this year’s Fiction Prize and have your story printed in Keep Writing magazine. Ten other lucky people will win a cheque for £100.

         Once again, we need people who can write good stories. The judges, who include Mary Littlejohn, the novelist, Michael Brown, the television reporter, and Susan Hitchins, the editor of Keep Writing, are looking for interesting and original stories. Detective fiction was extremely popular last year, although the competition winner produced a love story. You can write down about whatever you want but here’s some advice to start your thinking:

         Write about what you know

         This is the advice which every writer should pay attention to and, last year, nearly everyone who wrote for us did exactly that. Love, family, problems with friends ---- these were the main subjects of the stories. However, you need to turn ordinary situations into something interesting that people will want to read about. Make the reader want to continue reading by writing about ordinary things in a new and surprising way.

         Get your facts right

         It’s no good giving a description of a town or explaining how a jet engine works if you get it wrong. So avoid writing anything unless you’re certain about it.

         Hold the reader’s attention

         Make the beginning interesting and the ending a surprise. There is nothing worse than a poor ending. Develop the story carefully and try to think of something unusual happening at the end.

         Think about the characters

         Try to bring the people in your story alive for the reader by using well-chosen words to make them seem real.

         Your story must be your own work, between 2,000 and 2,5000 words and typed, double-spaced, on one side only of each sheet of paper.

         Even if you’re in danger of missing the closing date, we are unable to accept stories by fax or email. You must include the application form with your story. Unfortunately your story cannot be returned, nor can we discuss our decisions.

         You should not have had any fiction printed in any magazine or book in this country ---- a change in the rules by popular request ---- and the story must not have happened in print or in recorded form, for example on radio or TV, anywhere in the world.

         Your fee of £5 will go to the Writers’ Association. Make your cheque payable to Keep Writing and send it with the application form and your story to:

         Keep Writing

         75 Broad Street Birmingham

         B12 4TG

         The closing date is 30 July and we will inform the winner within one month of this date. Please note that if you win, you must agree to have your story printed in our magazine.

1.How should writers deal with ordinary situations while writing?

A. They should make them appealing to readers.

B. They should copy others’ ideas.

C. They should change some facts to make them interesting.

D. They should describe them as they are.

2.What shouldn’t a writer do?

A. Making the contents interesting.                     B. Getting the facts right.

C. Meeting the deadline.                                        D. Making the end ordinary.

3.Writers should present their works in the following ways except that ____________.

A. they should write originally

B. they can type their stories as they like

C. they should follow some rules

D. they should hand in their stories in time

4.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Late stories can be faxed if necessary.

B. Entry needs no fee.

C. Winners can have their stories printed in other magazines.

D. All stories should be presented by mail.

 

When I was a boy, I belonged to the Boy Scouts(童子军),so I used to go camping every summer, and once something happened which I have never been able to explain.

We were camping in a place above a river. After arriving, we all rushed down to the river and had a swim. Standing by the river, we noticed that it was surrounded by cliffs (悬崖).If someone wanted to reach the river at this point, he had to walk past our camp.

Several days later, the scoutmaster had to be away for a day. That afternoon, we had supper early. We were sitting round the fire, eating and talking, when a man walked past and went down towards the river. We all felt that this man looked very strange, but, because each of us was afraid of looking very stupid, no one said anything.

We ate rather slowly, taking as long as possible. After finishing, we collected our plates together so that we could take them to the river where we always washed them.  But no one moved towards the river, we stood looking at each other ashamed. Then all shouting at once, we began talking about the man who had walked past us. We agreed how strange he looked and we wondered what he could be doing by the river. We knew that he could only return by passing through our camp.

An hour passed. Then one of the boys suggested we should creep(悄悄移动)down by the river so that we could see what the man was doing. Moving very slowly and keeping in the shadow, we crept down towards the bank. One boy climbed a tree so that he could see everything clearly. He called to us that there was no one there, so we ran down to the bank, looking everywhere carefully. We could not understand where the man had gone.

When it got dark, we went back to our camp feeling bewildered. We told the scoutmaster what had happened in the evening. Smiling, he doubted that we had seen the man, but finally suggested we go and look again. We did, but there was no one there.

Many years have passed, but I still remember it as if it were yesterday. What did we see? I do not know.

1.The writer in the text mainly tells us _________.

A.the story of his childhood                 B.a strange camping experience

C.about a stranger by the river               D.about a good place for camping

2.Why did the boys eat their supper slowly?

A.They wanted to delay going to the river bank.

B.They were waiting for their scoutmaster.

C.They had a supper earlier than usual.

D.They were talking while eating.

3.The underlined word “bewildered” in the text probably means _________.

A.ashamed                              B.nervous

C.unable to understand                    D.eager to know something

4.When he heard what had happened, the scoutmaster __________.

A.realized who the man was

B.started to worry about the man

C.went back to look for the can

D.felt it hard to believe the boys

5.The writer still remembers the event because________.

A.the boys acted foolishly

B.the camping place is beautiful

C.there has been no explanation for the event

D.he particularly enjoyed his camping that summer.

 

I want to let you know about an event that changed my life many years ago. We were living in College Station, Texas and my wife and I were on our way home from Houston, Texas one Sunday morning. We decided to stop at a local gas station to get something to eat since we had enough time.

When we finished, we got back into our car and before I started it, we noticed a homeless man standing in front of the building. His clothes were worn and it looked as if he didn’t have any money. It was cold and I was sure he wanted something to drink. However, it was not this that moved(感动) me.

  A dog was also walking up to the front of the building. Being a dog lover, I noticed that the dog was a mother and that she had just had some puppies(小狗). She was hungry and weak and I felt so bad for her. I knew if she didn’t eat soon, she and her puppies would not live on.

  People walking by didn’t even notice her. She might not have been as pretty and clean as most, but she still deserved(值得) better. But we still did not do anything, someone else did. The homeless man, who I thought could not afford anything to eat, went back into a store and bought dog food with all the money he had.

I know that this story isn’t as inspirational as most stories, but it plays a great part in our lives. You see, that was Mother’s Day weekend. And a lot of people forget that some animals are parents too.

1.From the passage we can know that______.

A.the author didn’t like dogs

B.the dog was not pretty enough to be loved

C.the author wanted to help the dog but he was unable to

D.the dog and her puppies were in danger of dying of hunger

2.Which of the following moved the author?

A.Most people walking by the dog didn’t notice her

B.The homeless man wore worn clothes on the cold day

C.The homeless man bought food for the dog with all of his money

D.The homeless man had not any money to buy any food for himself

3.The author did the following except that he_______.

A.had pity on the dog that was in danger

B.bought dog food with all the money he had

C.was a person who treasured dogs very much

D.went home from Houston one Sunday morning

4.According to the passage, we know that the homeless man was _______.

A.kind and helpful                        B.brave and kind

C.clever and helpful                       D.clever and brave

5.The best title for this passage would be_______.

A.My Memory                         B.My wife and I

C.Animals Are Parents Too                  D.A Mother Dog and Her Puppies

 

We are all interested in equality, but while some people try to protect the school and examination system in the name of equality, others, still in the name of equality, want only to destroy it.

Any society which is interested in equality of opportunity and standards of achievement must __1  test its pupils. The standards may be changed — no examination is 2  — but to have no tests or examinations would mean the end of equality and of standards. There are groups of people who oppose this view and who do not 3 either in examinations or in any controls in school or on teachers. This would mean everything would depend on 4  since every pupil would depend on efficiency, the values and the purpose of each 5  .

Without examinations, employers will look for employees from the 6  respected schools and from families known to them – a form of favoritism will replace equality. At the moment, the bright child from an ill-respected school can show certificates to prove he is _7  for a job, while the lack of a certificate indicates the unsuitability of a 8  child attending a well-respected school. This defense of excellence and opportunity would disappear if examinations were 9  , and the bright child from a poor family would be a prisoner of his or her school’s reputation, unable to 10 for employment with the child from the 11__ school.

The opponents of the examination system suggest that examinations are an 12  force because they show differences between pupils. According to these people, there must be no special, __13 or academic class. They have even suggested that there should be no form of difference in sport or any other area: all jobs or posts should be filled by unsystematic 14  . The selection would be made by people who themselves are 15  selected by some computer.

1.                A.seldom         B.regularly        C.never    D.rarely

 

2.                A.perfect         B.interesting      C.easy D.difficult

 

3.                A.predict         B.explain         C.improve  D.believe

 

4.                A.equality        B.luck            C.labor D.examinations

 

5.                A.classmate       B.friend          C.teacher   D.parent

 

6.                A.equally         B.slightly         C.highly    D.interestingly

 

7.                A.suitable        B.interested       C.generous D.sensitive

 

8.                A.cruel          B.dull            C.clever    D.bright

 

9.                A.handed down    B.picked up       C.brought in D.taken away

 

10.               A.compete       B.stand          C.argue D.protect

 

11.               A.ordinary        B.favored        C.ill-respected    D.average

 

12.               A.necessary       B.healthy         C.extraordinary   D.evil

 

13.               A.standard        B.normal         C.different  D.fair

 

14.               A.selection       B.test            C.discussion D.arrangement

 

15.               A.surely          B.clearly         C.actually   D.probably

 

 

阅读表达(共5小题;每小题3分,满分15分)

阅读下面短文并回答问题,然后将答案写到答题卡相应的位置上(请注意问题后的词数要求)。

If you are worried about things and are under a lot of stress at work or school, then you are probably not sleeping well. Worry can keep you awake, and turning in bed until the early hours of the morning when you eventually fall asleep. When you wake up, you don’t feel refreshed, but tired and worn out and unable to face a new day.

Dr. Henry Winkle, in a recent newspaper article entitled StressandSleep, indicates that stress / worry and (lack of ) sleep are directly related. Dr. Winkle says, “The more we worry, the less we sleep, the more we are unable to deal with stress. If we can find a way to get a good night’s sleep,” he adds, “we can often find the energy to deal with what’s worrying us.”

So, what is a good night’s sleep? Research shows that the amount of sleep which people need in order to keep healthy varies a lot. Seven hours is about the average amount, though strangely enough, sleeping longer often gives you a headache instead of making you feel more refreshed.

Dr. Winkle believes that preparing for sleeping is important. People who work late should try to give themselves a short break and do something restful before going to bed. This could be watching TV or listening to music. Doing some exercise earlier in the day should help you to feel physically as well as mentally tired. A bedtime drink can also help, but coffee or tea should be avoided as they contain caffeine and will keep you awake. “When you put the light out,” Dr. Winkle says, “concentrate on relaxing your muscles, working slowly up from your feet, and you’ll be asleep before you know it.”

1.What is the best title of the passage?  (No more than 10 words)

2.What does the underlined word “indicates” in the second paragraph mean?(1 word)

3.What’s the relationship between stress and sleep according to Dr. Henry Winkle? (No more than 20 words)

4.Someone says that the longer you sleep, the better you feel. Try to find some arguments from the passage against the idea. (No more than 30 words)

5.Doing what things can help us fall asleep quickly? (No more than 10 words)

 

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