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

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.

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.

61. 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.

62. 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.

63. 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

64. 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.

While attending a conference, I returned to my hotel room late one rainy evening．The overhead light outside my door was   36  and I had difficulty finding the keyhole．When I finally  37   to open the door, I  38    around the wall for a light switch．I found a  39   where a switch was once installed… but no switch．

No discouraged easily, I remembered seeing a   40   by the bed when I put away my luggage   41   in the day．I found the bed in the dark and felt around until I found the lamp, but when I switched it on,   42   happened! Now what?

Though I knew that it was dark outside my window   43   the outdoor light was burned out, I thought that   44    if I opened the curtains I might be able to use the light from the   45   to find another lamp．So I   46    my way slowly across the room to the curtains and… no draw-string!

I finally stumbled（跌跌撞撞） around until I found a desk lamp that actually   47  ! That evening I discovered in a whole new way just how dark the world can be and how necessary   48   is．

But even more necessary than   49   light is the light that shines from people — the light of love, sympathy and   50  ．Because, for many people, the world is a dark and   51   place．

It is the shining that is important, for someone today just may be stumbling in discouragement or fear and in   52  of some light．

So let your light shine．Whatever light you  53  may be a beacon（灯塔）of hope and encouragement in someone’s darkness．And if you feel that your light is   54   a candle in a forest, remember this — there isn’t enough darkness in the world to   55   the light of one small candle．

A．burning      B．broken         C．shining    D．smooth

A．managed      B．attempted        C．succeeded D．meant

A．touched       B．turned          C．felt        D．looked

A．light          B．plate            C．lamp        D．signal

A．lamp          B．switch          C．desk        D．window

A．later          B．earlier          C．sooner      D．first

A．something     B．everything       C．nothing     D．anything

A．when          B．unless           C．since        D．although

A．certainly     B．surely           C．absolutely D．perhaps

A．star           B．street         C．room     D．shop

A．forced         B．struggled       C．made     D．pushed

A．worked        B．failed           C．did        D．closed

A．love          B．thinking         C．dream       D．light

A．spiritual       B．physical         C．mental      D．inner

A．faith          B．soul            C．help        D．attention

A．mixed         B．fancy         C．lonely       D．complicated

A．lack           B．need            C．favor       D．face

A．devote         B．receive          C．offer        D．throw

A．only          B．even            C．ever      D．much

A．give out       B．leave out        C．take out    D．put out

I remember a day when I was a little kid. I was making a sandwich in the kitchen when I noticed the date on one of the wine bottles.
“ Dad, dad!” I cried. “This wine is too old to drink.”
“ Son, hold on,” he said.
“ No, you can’t drink this tonight! This bottle of wine was made 10 years ago.”
“ Wait, let me tell you…”
“ Would you like me to throw it away from you?” I asked.
“ Son, wait a second,” he said. “Son, some wines get better over time. The longer you wait to drink it, the better it will be. Although this may seem strange, it is true.”
When I was young, I didn’t have any understanding of what this meant, but now, this would have been very helpful to remember as I went through my teenage years.
In our society, we forget this simple rule: The longer you want for certain things, the better they will be. But we want the best job as quickly as possible; we want to graduate from college in as few years as possible; we even speed through our homework just to chat with friends. When we do this, we lose something of great importance.
We all want to get to the next step so quickly that perhaps we don’t get ready enough to get there. This has a negative effect on our society. When trying to go to the right college, we will do anything to get in and when we rush through our class-work, we may not study enough for the test, and end up failing. We need to be ready for whatever comes, ready for the unexpected. Wine gets better over time, so do the things in our paths of life.
【小题1】Why did the author tell his father not to drink the bottle of wine?