假定你是李华，你的澳大利亚笔友Mike发来电子邮件，询问最近你市举办的“最美家乡”英语演讲比赛活动的情况。请给他回一封电子邮件，介绍以下该活动。要点如下：

1. 来自全市15所36名学生参加了此次英语演讲比赛；

2. 比赛分为三个环节：英语演讲、回答评委提出的问题和才艺表演；

3. 活动的意义。

注意：1. 词数100左右。2. 可适当增加细节，使行文连贯。

Dear Mike，

On December9, an English speech contest was held in our city.________________________________

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Yours,

Li Hua

BRAD GARRETT’S COMEDY CLUB

Category: Comedy

Best known for his role on the Emmy award-winning sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, Brad Garrett returns to his Vegas roots with his comedy club at the MGM Grand. It is a good place to check out when you need a break from work.

Prices from: $56.40 and up

Age restriction: Must be 21 years of age or older

Show Length: 115 minutes

MAC KING COMEDY MAGIC SHOW

Category: Comedy, Magic

Mac King Comedy Magic Show is different every afternoon, with lots of audience participation. He is willing to make fun of himself instead of his guests in order to make everyone feel welcome and entertained. The afternoon is kid-friendly from start to finish. Still, whether you’re eight or 80, you won’t be able to figure out King’s secrets.

Prices from: $40.90 and up

Age restriction: No age restriction

Show Length: 90 minutes

THE MENTALIST, GERRY MCCAMBRIDGE

Category: Comedy, Magic

Using his skills as a “mentalist”, Gerry McCambridge shocks the crowds as he uses his abilities to predict just what audience members will do next. Anyone who has seen the show has walked away in disbelief, amazed by his unusual power.

Prices from: $34.99  and up

Age restriction: Under 13 will not be admitted into the theater

Show Length: 75 minutes

ROCK OF AGES

Category: Plays & Musicals

The cheerful Rock of Ages brings audiences back to the times of big hair and even bigger bands with 28 popular rock songs from the 80s including “Every Rose Has Its Thorn,” “I Wanna Know What Love Is,” “Here I Go Again,” and more.

Rock of Ages has been nominated for five Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Direction of a Musical. It also received a Drama League nomination for Distinguished Production for a Musical.

Prices from: $74.00 and up

Age restriction: Must be 15 years of age or older

Show Length: 125 minutes

1.Who is most likely to be able to read audiences’ minds?

A. Raymond. B. Mac King.

C. Brad Garrett. D. Gerry McCambridge.

2.Which of the following is good for a kid of 10 years old to go to?

A. Gerry McCambridge’s show. B. Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club.

C. Mac King’s comedy magic show. D. Performances of Rock Of Ages.

3.If someone is interested in musicals, his best choice must be ______.

A. ROCK OF AGES

B. BRAD GARRETT’S COMEDY CLUB

C. MAC KING COMEDY MAGIC SHOW

D. THE MENTALIST, GERRY MCCAMBRIDGE

On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicted that 42% of Americans could be overweight by 2030. Our expanding waistlines lead to not only a medical problem, but according to a recent article in The New York Times, it could also endanger personal situations 一 in an airplane crash, for example.

The New York Times’ Christine Negroni reports that engineers and scientists are questioning whether airplane seats are adequately constructed to protect overweight travelers. Government standards for airplane seat strength (强度）first set more than 60 years ago一 require that the seats be made for a passenger weighing 170 pounds (77kg). Today, the average American man weighs nearly 194 pounds (88 kg) and the average woman 165 pounds (75 kg). Negroni reports:

“If a heavier person completely fills a seat, the seat is not likely to behave as intended during a crash,” said Robert Salzar, the leading scientist at the Center for Applied Biomechanics at the University of Virginia. “The energy absorption that is built into the aircraft seat is likely to be overpowered and the passengers will not be protected properly. "

“Nor would the injury be limited to that passenger only,” Dr. Salzar said “ If a seat or a seat belt fails,” he said, “those people who are seated nearby could be endangered by ‘ the uncontrolled movements of the passenger’.”

Most complaints about airplane seats focus on their lack of comfort and high ticket price and whether overweight passengers should be made to buy two seats. But The New York Times’ article brings up another reason to feel anxious about flying. Investigators of the issue got in touch with the airplane seat and seat belt makers, but they refused to comment on the problem. Experts agreed that crash testing should be done with overweight dummies (人体模型). Both airplane seats and seat belts should be tested, they said.

Fortunately, however, according to Nora Marshall, a senior adviser at the National Transportation Safety Board, the board’s investigators have never seen an accident involving a commercial plane in which the weight of a passenger is a problem.

1.What is the article in The New York Times mainly concerned with?

A. The size of airplane seats and seat belts.

B. Safety of overweight airplane passengers.

C. Airplane crashes involving commercial planes.

D. A medical problem caused by being overweight.

2.Robert Salzar would probably agree that ______ .

A. overweight passengers should buy two seats

B. the government should help produce bigger planes

C. standards for airplane seat strength should be raised

D. passengers should know how to protect themselves

3.We can learn from the text that ______ .

A. airplane seat makers have taken action now

B. there are few complaints about airplane seats

C. those seated near the overweight may suffer too

D. only a small number of airplane accidents involve the overweight

4.What is the best title for the text?

A. Why do passengers feel anxious about flying?

B. Will 42% of Americans be overweight by 2030?

C. When will the overweight enjoy their flight?

D. Are airplane seats safe enough for the overweight?

Both of my parents worked full-time when I was a little girl, so my grandmother would stay at our house during the day. We would watch game shows in the living room. Our favorite was The Price is Right. We would call out our answers along with the contestants.

When I got older and started going to school, we couldn’t watch our game shows regularly. That was okay with me, though, because the one thing I liked better than watching game shows with my grandmother was helping her bake. Watching her in the kitchen was amazing: she never seemed to need the recipes but everything she made tasted delicious.

At first I would just sit in the kitchen and watch, even though I didn’t understand what she was doing. As I got older, she let me help with the easy parts, such as measuring the sugar. The day she let me separate the eggs，I felt like I had found complete pleasure.

At last, my parents decided that I could take care of myself，and my grandmother stopped coming over every day. The love of baking, however, stayed with me. I started baking by myself, and even if the cookies ended up burnt sometimes, more often they turned out pretty well. I tried out new recipes, and whenever I got to a thorny part, I would call my grandmother for advice. Sometimes I would call her just to talk, too. I felt like I could talk to her about anything.

My grandmother passed away ten years ago, but I still think of her every day. Last week, I found a recipe book she made for me. It included her recipes for brownies, cookies, and my favorite, lemon pie. As I looked through the pages, I thought I could hear her voice. She was the one who taught me not just about baking, but about life.

1.The passage is developed in order of .

A. time B. place

C. logic D. events

2.While helping her grandmother bake, the author .

A. missed the game shows

B. refused to go to school

C. showed great interest

D. could take care of herself

3.What does the underlined word “thorny" in Paragraph 4 most probably mean?

A. Basic. B. Common.

C. Difficult. D. Special.

4.From the passage we know the author's grandmother .

A. lived with her family

B. was very skilled at baking

C. published a recipe book

D. had been on a game show

While Jennifer was at home taking an online exam for her business law class, a monitor（监控器）a few hundred miles away was watching her every move.

Using a web camera equipped in Jennifer’s Los Angeles apartment, the monitor in Phoenix tracked how frequently her eyes moved from the computer screen and listened for the secret sounds of a possible helper in the room. Her Internet access was locked — remotely — to prevent Internet searches, and her typing style was analyzed to make sure she was who she said she was: Did she enter her student number at the same speed as she had in the past? Or was she slowing down?

In the battle against cheating, this is the cutting edge and a key to encouraging honesty in the booming field of online education. The technology gives trust to the entire system, to the institution and to online education in general. Only with solid measures against cheating, experts say, can Internet universities show that their exams and diplomas are valid — that students haven’t just searched the Internet to get the right answers.

Although online classes have existed for more than a decade, the concern over cheating has become sharper in the last year with the growth of “open online courses”. Private colleges, public universities and corporations are jumping into the online education field, spending millions of dollars to attract potential students, while also taking steps to help guarantee honesty at a distance.

Aside from the web cameras, a number of other high-tech methods are becoming increasingly popular. Among them are programs that check students’ identities using personal information, such as the telephone number they once used.

1.Why was Jennifer watched in an online exam?

A. To correct her typing mistakes.

B. To find her secrets in the room.

C. To prevent her from slowing down.

D. To keep her from dishonest behaviors.

2.The underlined expression “cutting edge” in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ______.

A. advanced technique

B. sharpening tool

C. effective rule

D. dividing line

3.For Internet universities, exams and diplomas will be valid if _____.

A. they can attract potential students

B. they can defeat academic cheating

C. they offer students online help

D. they offer many online courses

4.What is the best title of this passage?

A. The Advantages of Online Exams

B. The High-tech Methods in Online Courses

C. The Fight against Cheating in Online Education

D. The War against the Booming of Online Education

How to Fix a Relationship

If you're having a problem with your relationship, you're not alone.1.However, you can make it work out if you decide to work together to fix it.

Recognize the problems. Any number of problems could do harm to your relationship. You should look for signs and symptoms of the problems you're facing. Listening attentively is the key, which can help you understand what he or she is feeling. 2.Actually think about what the person is saying, and maybe try to understand what is behind the words, as well. You also have a right to discuss what you’re feeling and thinking. The key is to keep a calm head. 3.Once you’ve figured out what your problems are together, have a conversation to find ways to solve them. How can you solve the problems in a way that both of you can live with? 4. Start with the place you both agree on. Maybe you can both agree on the problem at least, or maybe you can agree on the first step to the solution. For instance, maybe you agree that you are feeling disconnected. Maybe you can take it one step further and agree that you need to spend more time together.

Make a plan together. Once you’ve agreed to solutions, it’s time to put them into concrete terms. For instance, if you both agree you need to spend more time together, then maybe the agreement will be that you should make a date at least once a week.

Find ways to compromise. The key to any relationship is learning to compromise. 5. Compromising is about finding common ground, and both of you giving in a little on the issue.

A. Spend time connecting.

B. Talk about solutions together.

C. Don’t just let the words pass over you.

D. In other words, you need to look for common ground.

E. Most people have trouble with relationships at one point or another.

F. You can’t just expect to win every argument, as relationships need to give and take.

G. Whatever you need to do, take a few minutes to calm down before continuing the discussion.

Every New Year’s Eve in the past, we had breakfast at Aunt Dot' s house. My most vivid __ of the meal was the centerpiece (中心装饰品)that Aunt Dot always __ on her kitchen table — seven sets of salt and pepper shakers. It wasn’ t until years later that I finally asked Aunt Dot about the unusual centerpiece.

She was then 87 but she __ invited us to the last breakfast of the year. I had __ early that morning to help with the meal __ . Though weak, Aunt Dot was __ stirring (揽伴) pancake batter (糊状物)as she __ my question. “You know I arrange those salt and pepper shakers on the table every single year.”

“I know,” I said, __ plates on the table. “But __ do you always do that on New Year’s Eve morning?”

“It helps to remind me that __ the holidays are over, there’s another whole year of them coming,” Aunt Dot said thoughtfully.

I nodded __, “I guess that makes sense.”

“Let me tell you something more,” she said. “I’ve learned over my many tears that nothing really __ ; every ending in life is really just another new __ .”She pointed at me with the batter-covered spoon. “__ that, my dear.”

"I will," I told her.

In the spring of that year, after a short illness, Aunt Dot passed away. To my __ , I got the holiday salt and pepper shakers which I thought would be given to her own children. I __ Aunt Dot wanted to make sure I remembered her philosophy (生活信条）.

I continued Aunt Dot' s breakfast __ at my own apartment with the salt and pepper shakers centerpiece __ .The pancakes are never as delicious as Aunt Dot’s, __ the center of the table is covered with those old salt and pepper shakers, __ us all that every ending is really just another beginning.

1.A. dream B. memory C. mind D. worry

2.A. changed B. listed C. arranged D. cooked

3.A. still B. even C. ever D. just

4.A. come through B. come up C. come over D. come across

5.A. orders B. purchases C. shares D. preparations

6.A. enthusiastically B. nervously C. sadly D. bravely

7.A. went through B. figured out C. replied to D. made out

8.A. removing B. appreciating C. washing D. setting

9.A. when B. why C. what D. where

10.A. now that B. in case C. as though D. even if

11.A. in vain B. in doubt C. in agreement D. in demand

12.A. ignores B. stops C. requires D. lives

13.A. beginning B. surviving C. challenging D. escaping

14.A. Remember B. Forgive C. Forget D. Experience

15.A. disappointment B. surprise C. sadness D. relief

16.A. find B. decide C. guess D. notice

17.A. principle B. method C. law D. tradition

18.A. under control B. broken C. changed D. in place

19.A. but B. so C. and D. for

20.A. announcing B. reminding C. persuading D. suggesting

We're offering free tickets to go and see a film called A Year in Greenland. The film, which 1. (tell) you all about the plants and animals in that wonderful country, has won 2. prize at the national film festival- it's well worth 3.(see).

The film can only be seen at the new cinema that has just been completed inside the Science Museum in the city centre. It's showing this Sunday with 4. (perform) every hour from midday onwards, with the last showing at 5 o’clock, two hours before the museum closes. So there are six times to choose 5. .

So why not take the whole family to the cinema this Sunday. Children will want to head straight down to the basement 6. the computers are kept. I promise you they’ll come away with all sorts of 7.(excite) pictures they’ve created.

Entrance to the museum is free on Sundays, but it would 8. (normal) cost ﹩3.25 to go and see the film. 9. (get）your free tickets, you should e-mail this program by midday on Friday. We've only got a limited number of tickets, so the 10. (early) you e-mail us, the more likely you are to get one.

1.Ellen was a______ with Duncan for forgetting to phone her in time.

2.A good degree is a minimum ______(要求）for many jobs.

3.Patricia looked as beautiful and ______ (优雅的）as I saw her ten years ago.

4.Though he was small, Tom managed to d______ the table into the kitchen.

5.What experience do you have that is ______（有关的）to this position?

1.The world will be different, and we will have to be prepared to ____ ____ （适应）the change.

2.Taking a holiday then is ____ ____ ____ ____(不可能的); you’ll have to arrange it for some other time.

3.You have done so much work that you ____ ____ ____（一定能）grasp the technology.

4.As I opened the door, I found little Ben was ____ ____ (归类）the bricks into different colors alone.

5.This is a charity that raises money for women and children ____ ____ (在闲难中).