“Books get attention here.” Says Baldur Bjarnason, a researcher who has written about the Icelandic book industry.

The small Nordic island, with a population of only 329,000 people, is extraordinarily literary (文学的). They love to read and write. According to a BBC article, “The country has more writers, more books published and more books read, per head, than anywhere else in the world… One in 10 Icelanders will publish a book.”

It seems there is more value placed on physical, paper books than in North America, where e-books have grown in popularity. One bookstore manager said, “The book in Iceland is such an enormous gift-you give a physical book. You don’t give e-books here.” The book industry is driven by the majority of people buying several books each year, rather than the North American pattern of a few people buying lots of books.

It sounds like a wonderful tradition, perfect for a winter evening. It is something that I would love to incorporate (吸收) into my own family’s celebration of Christmas.

【1】What do Icelanders do on Christmas Eve?

A. They give books to each other and read books.

B. They buy a lot of books to read.

C. They check the mailboxes and send cards to friends.

D. They get together and sing Christmas songs together.

【2】How many people in Iceland can be described as writers?

A. 329,000 B. 32,900

C. 3,290 D. 3,290,000

【3】What is the difference between Icelanders and North Americas on buying books?

A. People in Iceland never buy e-books.

B. People in North America never buy physical books.

C. A few people buy a large number of books in North America.

D. In Iceland, everyone buys a large number of books each year.

【1】“Don’t!” cried Oliver, ___________ (挣扎). “Let go of me!”

【2】Oliver was __________ (铤而走险的) with hunger and bitterness.

【3】They suffered from starvation, yet their welfare was of no c_________ (关心、在意) to the taxpayers.

【4】They were photographed i__________（单个地）and then as a group.

【5】The __________ (共识) of most people is that Canto pop is good music.

【6】Last week they s____________（交换） places and will repeat the switch weekly.

【7】The medical team ____________ (consist) of 10 doctors and 5 nurses will set out at dawn.

【8】I didn’t intend her ____________ (see) the painting until it was finished.

【9】I bought a ____________ (一份) of USA Today from a street-corner machine.

【10】She turned to face him; her anger was a____________ (显然) gone.

请结合自己的实际，谈几点父母值得你感恩的地方，以及将来你会做些什么来报答父母的养育之恩。

1.短文的开头已给出，但不计入总词数。

2.100词左右。(感恩: thanksgiving)

Not only do our parents give us life, but they also give us endless love and support, always sharing our happiness and sorrow.

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Scientists have discovered that【1】_________(stay) in the cold could help us lose weight. Researchers at the University of California found that exposure to the cold increases levels of a protein that helps form brown fat — the type of fat that produces heat and keeps us warm. Brown fat burns energy, 【2】_________ helps us lose weight. White fat stores extra energy, which results 【3】____ weight gain. The researchers said that because air conditioning and heating give us constant, 【4】__________ (comfort) temperatures, our body's need for brown fat has decreased. They found that: "Outdoor workers in northern Finland who 【5】_______(expose) to cold temperature have 【6】_____significant amount of brown fat when 【7】________(compare) to same-aged indoor workers."

The research was conducted on two different control groups of mice. 【8】__________ group was injected with the protein that helps create brown fat. This group later gained 30% less weight after both groups were fed high-fat diets. The researchers say this could be good news in the fight against obesity. People who are obese have 【9】 (low) levels of brown fat than thinner people. Head researcher Hei Sook Sul said: "This protein could become an important target for research into the treatment and prevention of obesity and obesity-related diseases." She added: "If you can somehow increase levels of this protein, you could 【10】_________(possible) lose more weight even if eating the same amount of food."

Be seen without trying to get attention.

You don’t have to say anything witty or interesting to get people’s attention..【2】 . This can be done anywhere you go, such as the supermarket or your yoga studio.

Use the power of listening.

When you listen to other people, they’ll keep talking. 【3】. Just keep giving them good eye contact and show with your body language that you care.

Think about what you can give to the other people.

So often we think about what we can get out of others when we try to make friends, but that thinking needs to be flipped around. 【4】 .

Always have 3 good stories to tell other people.

When you have at least a few stories to share with others, you’ll never run out of things to talk about.

【5】.

A smile is one of the most attractive things that someone can display when they’re meeting new people. Try to smile when meeting with someone will help you a lot.

A. A faint smile is also useful

B. Smile like there’s no tomorrow

C. Listening is a mechanism to build trust and likeability

D. There are just a few strategies that you have to use on a consistent basis

E. All you have to do is place yourself in environments where people will see you

F. These five strategies are always available if you want to develop true relationships

G. Try offering a piece of helpful advice or invite someone you just met to grab coffee

Read as much as you can. But your reading must be active. It means that you must think about the meaning of the sentences, the meaning of the unfamiliar words, etc. There is no need for you to pay much attention to grammar or try to understand all the unfamiliar words you come across, but the fact that you see them for the first time and recognize them whenever you see them, for example in other passage or books, is enough. It would be better to prepare yourself a notebook so you can write down the important words or sentences in it.

As for listening, there are two choices: besides reading, you can listen every day for about 30 minutes. You can only pay attention to your reading and become skillful at your reading, then you can catch up on your listening. Since you have lots of inputs in your mind, you can easily guess what the speaker is going to say. This never means that you should not practice listening.

For listening you can listen to cartoons or some movies that are specially made for children. Their languages are easy. Or if you are good at listening you can listen to VOA or BBC programs every day. Again the thing to remember is being active in listening and preferably taking some notes.

If you follow these pieces of advice, your speaking and writing will improve automatically, and you can be sure that with a little effort they will become perfect.

【1】According to the author, which should you improve first among the four skills?

A. Reading and listening.

B. Reading and writing.

C. Writing and speaking.

D. Speaking and listening.

【2】To improve your reading, when you read you should ________.

A. look up all the new words in the dictionary

B. think about what you are reading actively

C. spend more time studying grammar

D. copy as many words and sentences as possible

【3】The author seems to agree with the view that _________.

A. everyone should listen to VOA or BBC programs every day

B. You needn’t practice listening if you keep on reading every day

C. being good at reading is helpful in improving your listening

D. you should take notes of whatever you are hearing

【4】The passage is mainly about how to _________.

A. choose suitable listening materials

B. deal with new words in reading

C. improve your English as quickly as possible

D. become fluent in speaking and writing English

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仅限一词；

2．只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。

Dear Liu Jun,

How are you? I have studied in Detroit for almost one year, when the teachers and students are very friend with me. With their help, I’ve made a great progress in my studies. The climate isn’t what I expect. I have never gone through such a cold winter. However, I have gradually adapted me to it. Detroit, whose industry is famous, belongs to the developed world. All kind of lights on at night, Detroit is extreme beautiful. The people there live at a fast pace. They are always on the go, so they have less time chat with each other.

How is everything with you? I’d like to hear about you soon.

Yours,

Li Hua

1.学习热情减退；

2.作业太多，疲于应付；

3.……

注意：1.词数100左右；

2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

参考词汇：减退weaken

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Justin Timberlake: Can’t Stop the Feeling

Can’t Stop the Feeling is a song recorded by the American singer Justin Timberlake for the movie Trolls. The song hits the US Billboard Hot 100, opening with 379,000 downloads in its first week, marking Timberlake’s fifth No. 1 single in the country.

Charlie Puth: We Don’t Talk Anymore

We Don’t Talk Anymore is a song performed by American singer Charlie Puth. It uses a relaxing tropical house beat. It has stood at the Top 10 position on Chinese major music platforms for quite a long time.

Xu Wei: Live a More Than Desultory Life

Live a More Than Desultory Life awoke strong feelings among the generations born in the 80s and 90s. Firstly released on March 8, 2016, the name of the song became one of the buzzwords(时髦话)on the Internet. The song tries to encourage people to open their arms to beautiful poems and distant lands, to follow their dreams and to live a rich life.

Hebe Tien: A Little Happiness

A Little Happiness is a love song from Our Times, a 2015 Taiwanese romance film. This song in Chinese musical circles gained many prizes and is performed by other musicians. The song has been adapted into Cantonese, Japanese, Korean and English versions. It is worth nothing that the song and the movie have been widely accepted in the Republic of Korea.

【1】What do the first two songs have in common?

A. They are sung by Americans.

B. They are created for films.

C. They enjoy high downloads.

D. They hit the US billboard.

【2】Why is Live a More Than Desultory Life special?

A. It is well-received.

B. It is instructive.

C. It is relaxing.

D. It is classical.

【3】What can we learn about A Little Happiness?

A. It is free of charge.

B. It is a song from a war film.

C. It is recorded in French.

D. It has won many prizes.

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。

【1】Either his students or he are going to see a film.

【2】We’re trying stop desertification these years.

【3】China is the country when silk was first made.

【4】Unfortunate, hundreds of houses there caught fire last night.

【5】Study harder, and you will make a great progress.