【题目】 Do American children still learn handwriting in school? In the age of the keyboard, some people seem to think handwriting lessons are on the way out. 90% of teachers say they are required to teach handwriting. But studies have yet to answer the question of how well they are teaching it. One study published this year found that about three out of every four teachers say they are not prepared to teach handwriting. Some teachers are teaching handwriting by providing instruction for 10 to 15 minutes a day, and then other teachers who basically teach it for 60 to 70 minutes a day—which really for handwriting is pretty much.

Many adults remember learning that way—by copying letters over and over again. Today’s thinking is that short periods of practice are better. Many experts also think handwriting should not be taught by itself. Instead, they say it should be used as a way to get students to express ideas. After all, that is why we write.

Handwriting involves two skills. One is legibility, which means forming the letters so they can be read. The other is fluency—writing without having to think about it. Fluency continues to develop up until high school.

But not everyone masters these skills. Teachers commonly report that about one fourth of their kids have poor handwriting. Some people might think handwriting is not important any more because of computers and voice recognition programs.

But Steve Graham at Vanderbilt says word processing is rarely done in elementary school, especially in the early years. American children traditionally first learn to print, and then to write in cursive, which connects the letters. But guess what we learned from a spokeswoman for the College Board, which administers the SAT college admission test. More than 75 percent of students choose to print their essay on the test rather than write in cursive.

【1】Which of the following is WRONG for traditional handwriting in the USA?

The students are taught by practicing a long period.

The letters are repeated many times.

Handwriting includes two skills.

To write in cursive is taught first.

【2】The underlined word “legibility” in Paragraph 3 means _____.

easy to read

complex

unexpected

unreadable

【3】The best title for the passage is _____.

How to improve handwriting in school

Right or wrong: the death of handwriting

C. Handwriting involves two skills

D. Handwriting lessons are on the way out

【4】The author’s attitude towards whether still to learn handwriting in school is _____.

negative

objective

critical

optimistic

【题目】 Why Melbourne? Having long lived in the shadow of Sydney, Melbourne has become a wonderful place for fashion and design and the cultural center of Australia, with an enjoyable program of festival.

What to see? The city center’s grid(格子)system of streets hides a maze(迷宫) of lanes and turn-of-the-century shopping malls where you will find the best cafes, bars and shops. The Hidden Secrets Tour (00 613 9329 9665, hiddensecretstours. com) guides will make sure you find what you’re after, whether it’s fashion, art and design or wine. 34 per person.

Where to eat? Melbourne is a paradise for those who enjoy eating delicious food, and its top chefs use fresh produce and have talent for the experimental. But for something different, enjoy yourself with an Australian Wine Tour Company trip. Departing from the city center daily, you’ll taste wines at four of the region’s best vineyards(葡萄园). It costs 48 per person, including all wine tasting, lunch and a visit to Domaine Chandon (00-613-9419-4444, austwinetourco. Com. au)

Where to stay? The Nunnery is an old convent(修道院)on the edge of the city. It has double rooms with breakfast costing 54 per night (00-613-9419-8637, nunnery. com. au)

How to get there? Qantas (0845-7747-767, qantas. com. au) flies from Heathrow to Melbourne twice a day 766, including taxes.

More information: Contact the official tourism site for Melbourne at visitmelbourne. com/uk

Use the links below for more on

Destination guide: Melbourne

Click here for our Melbourne page

ours in Melbourne

【1】 Why is Melbourne a popular destination for Australians?

Because it’s the most important city.

Because it’s well-known for festivals.

Because it is a cultural center in Australia.

Because it attracts lots of religious followers.

【2】 To get more information about Hidden Secret Tour, you should call _____.

00-613-9329-9665

00-613-9419-4444

00-613-9419-8637

0845-7747-767

【3】 If you are interested in tasting Australian wines, you have to pay _____.

34

48

54

76

【题目】 If you’re wondering what the top things people do on their Hawaii vacations (besides enjoy the magnificent Hawaii beaches), look on further.

Whether you’re here to see an incredible Hawaii volcano or you want to laze on a beach at a top resort in Kona, Hawaii, knowing ahead of time what you want to do will help you make the most of your trip to Hawaii.

Volcanoes National Park

Most visitors to Hawaii want to see lava from an active Hawaii volcano, and the big island does not disappoint when it comes to this. Spread out over 333,000 acres, the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park takes up a large portion on the southern part of the Big Island. Mauna Loa, rising at 13,667 feet, is easily the largest dormant volcano in the world. Kilauea volcano is where you can see the lava floes(熔岩块) and terrible volcanic landscapes. You can spend days hiking and camping in the Hawaii volcano park, since over half of it is set aside as wilderness.

Kona Coast

The Kona Coast, on the west side of the Big Island, is home to the top resorts on the Big Island and the popular Kona vacation rentals. The Kona area enjoys great weather all year round, in addition to other activities like deep-sea fishing and snorkeling(潜水), making it a popular place for Hawaii beaches. You can also take a tour of the coffee farms that produce the world famous Kona coffee, which is organic and all natural. Kona vacation rentals are popular because many of these look out over the Pacific Ocean, and are close to excellent beaches. Whether you Hawaii vacation includes Hawaii beaches, staying at a resort or booking one of the Kona vacation rentals, this area is one of the best of all islands to stay.

Iao Valley

Iao Valley beauty has inspired Hawaiians to gather here to honour the agriculture god, Lono, during an annual festival called the Makahiki Festival. For over a hundred years visitors have been coming to the valley to enjoy the scenic beauty of this lush(青葱的) valley. There are trails in the park, so you can see the best scenery of the cloud-covered valley. These clouds have a lot to do with the shape of the valley, since these feed the streams that carved the shape of the Iao Valley.

【1】The best title for this passage is _____.

Things to do in Hawaii

Rich tourism resources in Hawaii

Hawaii’s charming beauty

Wondering in Hawaii

【2】This passage is meant for _____.

American students

potential travelers

local residents

geographer

【3】We can guess the meaning of “organic” is _____.

man-made

green

chemical

animal

【4】We can read this passage from _____ in a newspaper.

a tour edition

a sport edition

a social life edition

a science and technology edition

【题目】You will live in a town close___the countryside.

【题目】The workers are complaining ___ the overtime work.

【题目】Easy Ways to Keep Your Brains Sharp

Everyone is forgetful, but as we age, we start to feel like our brains are slowing down a bit—and that can be a very annoying thing. 【1】 Read on for some techniques worth trying.

1. 【2】

People who regularly made plans and looked forward to upcoming events had a 50 percent reduced chance of Alzhermer’s disease(早老性痴呆症), according to a recent study. 【3】 Something as simple as setting a goal to have a weekly coffee date with a friend will do. There’s evidence that people who have a purpose in life or who are working on long or short-term goals appear to do better. In other words, keep your brain looking forward.

2. Go for a walk

Mildly raised glucose(葡萄糖)levels can harm the area of the brain that helps you form memories and physical activity can help get blood glucose down to normal levels. In fact, exercise produces chemicals that are good for your brain. 【4】

3. Learn something new

Take a Spanish class online, join a drawing club, or learn to play cards. A study found that mental stimulation limits the weakening effects of aging on memory and the mind. But the best thing for your brain is when you learn something new and are physically active at the same time. 【5】

Focus on the future.

This can be especially harmful to the aged.

It should be something like learning gardening.

So take a few minutes each day to do some reading.

But don’t worry if your schedule isn’t filled with life-changing events.

Luckily, research shows there is a lot you can do to avoid those moments.

In other words, when you take care of your body, you take care of your brain.

【题目】计划的好处在于简单易行。(consist in)

【题目】【2017届江苏省泰州中学高三下学期期初考试】下列诗句都写到了梅花，其中没有用比喻的一项是（ ）

A．砌下落梅如雪乱，拂了一身还满。（李煜《清平乐·别来春半》）

B．恻恻轻寒翦翦风，小梅飘雪杏花红。（韩偓《夜深》）

C．脉脉花疏天淡，云来去、数枝雪。（范成大《霜天晓角·梅》）

D．天憎梅浪发，故下封枝雪。（周邦彦《菩萨蛮·梅雪》）

【题目】【北京三十一中学2016—2017学年度第二学期高二期中】下列各句中运用了比喻修辞手法的是（ ）

A．我将永远道不出我的爱，一种像由音乐与图画所引起的爱。

B．窗子许里面人看出去，同时也许外面人看进来。

C．迟到了，他笑着伸了伸舌头，好像闯了祸怕挨骂似的。

D．眼睛是灵魂的窗户，我们看外界，同时也让人看到了我们的内心。

【题目】【2017年江苏省高考考前押题卷】下列诗句中，没有使用借代手法的一项是( )

A．知否、知否？应是绿肥红瘦。

B．倩何人唤取，红巾翠袖，揾英雄泪？

C．回眸一笑百媚生，六宫粉黛无颜色。

D．忽如一夜春风来，千树万树梨花开。