As the new semester begins, millions of college students across the country are trying hard to remember how best to write a paper or, more likely, how best to delay that paper.

Procrastination is the thief of time and a lot of students suffer form it. They can spend whole days in the library doing nothing but staring into space, eating snacks, surfing the Internet, watching videos and looking at other students sitting around them, who, most likely are doing nothing either.

Paralyzed (使失去活力) by their habit to procrastinate, they write micro blogs about their fears, asking their online friends if they sometimes have the same issue. But this does nothing to break the spell (魔咒).

According to a recent report, 95 percent of us procrastinate at some point and 20 percent of the world’s population are always procrastinating. The figures are disappointing. Procrastinators are less wealthy, less healthy and less happy than those who don’t delay. Procrastinators like to find excuses to justify their behavior, but BBC columnist Rowan Pelling says they are all wrong.

Many procrastinators tell themselves they are perfectionists who work best under pressure. Pelling says this is non sense, as work done at the last minute is more likely to have mistakes than work done on time. The behavior of procrastinators often makes them feel ashamed, inconveniences others and annoys loved ones.

Pelling also points out that procrastination feels particularly delinquent（过失的） in a society that thinks of speedy action as admirable, and, at times, even as a moral good.

Fortunately, social scientists have thrown their weight behind efforts to understand this behavioral mistake and offer strategies to control it. Piers Steel, a Canadian social scientist and author of The Procrastination Equation, believes human is “designed” to procrastinate. Nevertheless, he suggests a couple of good ways to get through the task at hand.

1.Which behavior belongs to procrastination?

A. Never dream away the time.

B. Always complete the tasks ahead of time.

C. Never put off till tomorrow what should be done today.

D. Always wait to work until the “good mood” or “good time”.

2.According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?

A. Procrastination makes people waste their time.

B. Speedy action is considered as a moral standard in the society.

C. procrastinators usually complete their tasks perfectly.

D. Procrastination is common among people.

3.What is most likely to be discussed in the paragraph that follows?

A. Ways to handle the study pressures.

B. Introduction to the book The Procrastination Equation.

C. More examples to illustrate procrastination

D. Measures to deal with procrastination.

My friend BJ Gallagher told me a great story recently, about her own experience with resentment (愤恨). She once worked as the training manager for a large newspaper, where she found the corporate culture extremely frustrating. The company was a hundred years old and their past success had blinded them to the need for change. Finally, after butting heads with several senior executives (主管) many times, she left the company. But she found that she hadn’t left her resentment, frustration, and anger behind when she resigned.

“I finally decided to write about my experiences and my feelings at the newspaper. I wanted to be rid of that company and those people, once and for all. So I wrote and I wrote. It wasn’t just a story that poured out; it was a whole book! We called it A peacock in the Land of Penguins. I was the peacock and those newspaper executives were the penguins.”

“It took me several more years to finally get over my negative emotions. Through a lot of soul-searching and reflection, I finally was able to let go of my resentment. I came to see that there was nothing personal in the way they treated me, and they were good people doing what they thought best for the company. I was the one who had made it personal. I thought they were making my life miserable on purpose.”

“Finally, the time came when I decided to make amends (弥补) for the sharp, angry things I had said about the company. I invited my former boss to dinner and made my apology. It was a great healing process for me. I finally felt free of the resentment that had been eating me up.”

“What was the final outcome?” I asked her.

“Gratitude,” she replied. “Not only wasn’t I resentful any more, I was grateful to the company. If I hadn’t had those painful experiences, I would never have written a book. And the book became hugely successful – now published in 21 languages; it transformed my business.”

1. What made BJ Gallagher frustrated in the company?

A. Unfair treatment by the senior executives.

B. The culture and tradition of the company.

C. The strict rules in the company.

D. Her low position in the company.

2.Why did BJ Gallagher write about her experiences and feelings at the company?

A. To make peace with the executives.

B. To make suggestions to the company.

C. To do soul-searching and reflection.

D. To express her anger.

3.What does the underlined part “butting heads with” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?

A. making friends with

B. working with

C. arguing with

D. spending time with

4. BJ Gallagher finally felt grateful to the company because _______.

A. she was forgiven by her former executives

B. she was accepted by the company again

C. her painful experiences there was valuable for her

D. she learned how to forgive others

On a Saturday morning earlier this September, the world got its first look at the Strati. This electric vehicle is unlike any other currently on the road. It rolls on four wheels, but its body and chassis(底盘) weren’t built in a factory. Instead, Strati’s designers used a technology called 3-D printing. It created those parts of the car in one piece, from the ground up.

“Compared to a typical vehicle on the road, the Strati definitely looks different,” says Greg Schroeder, a senior research engineer at the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. He did not work on the new car. His organization studies trends and changes in the auto industry.

It took 44 hours to print the new car at the International Manufacturing Technology Show in Chicago. Over the next few days, the car’s designers installed additional parts. These included the car’s engine, brakes and tires. Then, early on September 13, Jay Rogers climbed into the car, started its engine and drove the vehicle onto the street. Rogers helped found Local Motors. It’s the Arizona-based company behind the Strati. Two weeks later, his team printed a second Strati, and just as fast, at a fair in New York City.

Justin Fishkin, a local Motors official, sees the Strati as a window into the future. Today, car buyers are limited in their choice of a vehicle. They can order only what car companies have already designed. But in the future, he says, you may be able to design your own car online and then get it printed to order.

Manufacturing experts say 3-D printing has begun to revolutionize how they make things. The technology has been around for decades. But these machines used to be so expensive that only large companies could afford them. In the last few years, though, that has changed. Many of the machines are now inexpensive enough for small companies—or even individuals —to own. Some local libraries make them available to the public. High Schools are beginning to use them in classrooms. Wide access to these printers means people can now design and print a wide variety of new things.

The car’s printer is a one-of-a-kind device.

The technology behind the 3-D printer used in Chicago is an example of additive manufacturing. This process builds solid objects, slice by slice, from the bottom up. (“Strati” means layers, in Italian.) A mechanical arm moves a nozzle from one side to another, back and forth. As it moves, the nozzle deposits a liquid—often melted plastic or metal (but it could be food, concrete or even cells) —that quickly hardens or bonds to become solid or semi-solid. This creates a single, thin layer. Once a layer is complete, the printer starts depositing the next one.

“There’s a lot of interest in 3-D printing in the auto industry,” says Schroeder. Right now, the technology is particularly useful for building models of cars or car parts.

To compete with current auto manufacturers, the 3-D printer would have to increase in a hurry, Schroeder says. By contrast, he notes, a Ford F-150 pickup truck rolls off an assembly line at a rate of roughly one per minute. To print as many Stratis would require many more printers. Schroeder says he doesn’t see 3-D printing soon taking over for such high-volume manufacturing. But, he adds, “Who knows what will happen in the long term?”

Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee designed the 3-D printer used in Chicago. Lonnie Love, a research scientist at the lab, led the effort.

Additive manufacturing often is slow and expensive. It also may produce materials that are unreliable, Love says. So for two years, his team searched for ways to make 3-D printing better. They built new machines and tested them over and over.

All of that work paid off: their new machine is fast and uses less expensive material than earlier printers. In addition, it prints a plastic embedded with fibers of carbon to produce a stronger material. This helps ensure the material won’t crack or break under pressure.

1.Which of the following statements about the first Strati is TRUE?

A. It was born in a car factory in Chicago.

B. All parts of it were not made by using a technology called 3-D technology.

C. It is a pity that it has not run on the street so far.

D. Many senior research engineers worked on it, including Greg Schroeder.

2. What can we infer from Paragraph 5?

A. Large companies are always rich enough to buy expensive things.

B. Now High Schools are beginning to use 3-D printers in classrooms.

C. Wide access to 3-D printers has made it possible for people to order novel things online.

D. High prices of new products can stop them from being used widely in the beginning.

3.What does the word “nozzle” in Paragraph 7 possibly refer to?

A. A single, thin layer.

B. A part of the 3-D printer.

C. A solid or semi-solid object.

D. A person who operates the machine.

4. Why did Lonnie Love make efforts to improve 3-D printing with his team?

A. Because additive manufacturing might produce unreliable materials.

B. Because he just was interested in making new things.

C. Because he just wanted to build new machines and test them

D. Because additive manufacturing is always slow but inexpensive.

5.Which of the following can be the best title for this passage?

A. 3-D Printers Are Coming

B. 3-D Printers Are Becoming Well- Known

C. 3-D Printers Are Becoming Cheaper

D. 3-D Printers Are Making Cars

Put a group of strangers in a room together, and they’ll probably start a conversation. “Hot today, isn’t it?” one might say. “You said it,” another replies.

Why do we talk so much about the weather? When we meet new people, we don’t begin by telling them our life story. We start with small talk, a polite conversation about something like traffic or weather.

Research suggests that small talk can build new friendships. When we begin conversations with new people, we want to feel comfortable, and so do they. We use small talk to find common interests. Once we have a common interest, a friendship can begin.

Small talk even helps people get a job. In order to impress at a job interview, you need to bond with the interviewer right away. Proper small talk can make that first impression get you the job.

So, how can you make small talk lead to a new friendship or job? First off, find common ground. Select something around you that you share with the other person.

Next, keep the conversation going. Compliment (赞美) the other person to make him or her feel comfortable, and ask questions to show interest.

Third, keep eye contact. When you loop people in the eye, they feel you appreciate what they are saying. It makes you appear honest and build trust.

Naturally, shy people might not have enough confidence to start up conversations with strangers. Talking to someone you don’t know is not the easiest thing to do! Some experts say with more practice, small take does get easier.

Some people avoid small talk because they dislike discussing things like traffic or weather. For them, they are just too small. However, when you think about it, small talk is anything but small. In fact, it is actually a very big deal!

1.We should _________(分析) what they said and not just agree with everything.

2. As ancient _________（文明）, China and Egypt have long and splendid cultures, and both have made great achievements in modern culture and art.

3. It hurts us deeply to see half of all woodland and forests __________(毁坏).

4.The radio ______ (预报)said that the mist would become a thick fog in the afternoon.

5.The book is available on Amazon in both ______ (简化) and traditional Chinese.

6. I’m f ______because the people I'm working with and learning from are true experts in their fields.

7.The bell for the class rang suddenly, i______ their heated discussion.

8.Teenagers should be encouraged to keep healthy m______ and physically.

9.The office reminded that graduates need to visit o______ sites of the competition – www.qccy.org or newjobs.com.cn for online application.

10. Donors and planters will have their names hung on the new trees in r______ of their efforts.

11.They feared that the mummy would fall to pieces when they cut it open, but fortunately this has not happened. The mummy successfully______the operation.

12.When my old friend Brian ______ me to accept a cigarette, it was more than I could bear.

13. I am used to traveling by air and only on one occasion have I ever felt _________.

14.There were six million visitors in all, and the ______from the exhibition were used to build museums and colleges.

15.Now, dressed in a blue uniform and with a rifle over his shoulder, the prisoner marched ______up and down in front of the camp.

书面表达

请阅读下列文字和图表，并按照要求用英语写一篇150词左右的文章。

When was the last time you had fun with your parents? Your parents are all busy during working days; during the weekends, you may want to hang out with them but they may have to work extra hours.

This is not uncommon. In China, both of the parents have their jobs. Most of the parents try their best to offer their children comfortable circumstances, but they seldom have time to stay with their children. A recent survey done in the US found that more than half of American parents spend less than three hours having fun with their children each week.

As the Daily Mail noted: Families are spending little quality time creating bonds and precious memories together during the week because of the demands of modern life.

【写作内容】

1. 用约30个单词概述上述信息的主要内容；

2. 简要分析父母陪伴孩子的时间越来越少的原因；

3. 结合自己的经历，谈谈父母多陪伴孩子对其孩子的影响。

【写作要求】

1. 写作过程中不能直接引用原文语句；

2. 作文中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称；

3. 不必写标题。(陪伴: accompany v.)

On March 20, Nicky Wu and Liu Shishi, _____pair who played _____ doomed(命中注定的） couple in pop TV series Trading in Thin Ice, got married.

A. the; a B. the; the C. a; a D. a; the

_________ by green mountains and located at the foot of Lushan Mountain makes it a famous tourist attraction.

A. Surrounded B. Having been surrounded

C. Being surrounded D. Surrounding

AlphaGo, an artificial intelligence machine outperformed Lee, which made the five-match score 4-1 ___________ AlphaGo.

A. in support of B. in favor of

C. in defense of D. in need of

US basketball player Dave once said the best teams always communicate with each other and they __________ personal glory for the common goal.

A. divide B. relieve C.acquire D. sacrifice