“Sending thank-you notes is becoming a lost art,” mourns May Mitchell, a syndicated columnist known as “Ms Demeanor” and author of six etiquette(礼节) books. In her view, each generation, compared with the one before, is losing a sense of consideration for other people. “Without respect,” she says, “you have conflict.”
Ms. Demeanor would be proud of me: I have figured out a way to ensure that my children always send thank-you notes. And such a gesture is important, says Ms. Demeanor, because “a grateful attitude is a tremendous life skill, an efficient and inexpensive way to set ourselves apart in the work force and in our adult lives. Teach your children that the habit of manners comes from inside---it’s an attitude based on respecting other people.”
A few years ago, as my children descended like piranhas (一种南美淡水鱼，喜吞食或攻击) on their presents under the Christmas tree, the only attitude I could see was greed. Where was the appreciation of time and effort?
A thank-you note should contain three things: an acknowledgement of the gift (Love the tie with the picture of a hose on it); a recognition of the time and effort spent to select it (You must have shopped all over the state find such a unique item!); a prediction of how you will use your gift or the way it has enhanced your life (I’ll be sure to wear it to the next Mr. Ed convention!).
So, five years ago, in one of my rare flashes of parental insight, I decided that the most appropriate time to teach this basic courtesy is while the tinsel (装饰用光亮金属) is hot. To the horror of my children, I announced that henceforth every gift received will be an occasion for a thank-you note written immediately, on the spot.
I have reluctantly given my kids the green light to send e-mail thank-you notes; though hand-lettered ones (at least to me) still seem friendlier. But pretty much any thank-you makes the gift giver feel special—just as, we hope, the recipient feels. It’s a gesture that perfectly captures the spirit of the holidays.
41. 【小题1】in Ms. Demeanor’s point of view, children born in the ______ is probably the least respectful generation.

Taking good notes is a time-saving skill that will help you to become a better student in several ways.   1.   Second, your notes are excellent materials to refer to when you are studying for a test. Third, note-taking offers variety to your study time and helps you to hold your interest.

You will want to take notes during classroom discussions and while reading a textbook or doing research for a report.   2.  . Whenever or however you take notes, keep in mind that note-taking is a selective process.   3.   

The following methods may work best for you.

Read the text quickly to find the main facts and ideas in it.

Carefully read the text and watch for words that can show main points and supporting facts.

Write your notes in your own words.

  4. .

Note any questions or ideas you may have about what was said or written.

As you take notes, you may want to use your own shorthand(速记). When you do, be sure that you understand your symbols and that you use them all the time.  5.  .

A．Use words, not complete sentences.

B．There are three practical note-taking methods.

C．You must write your notes on separate paper.

D．Otherwise, you may not be able to read your notes later.

E．You will also want to develop your own method for taking notes.

F．That means you must first decide what is important enough to include in your notes.

G．First, the simple act of writing something down makes it easier for you to understand and remember it.

Tracy Wong is a well-known Chinese-American writer. But her writing __1__ was something she picked up by herself. After her first__2__, teaching disabled children, she became a part-time writer for IBM. __3__, writing stories was simply a __4__ interest. Tracy sent three of her stories to a publisher (出版商). __5__, they immediately suggested that she put them together to make a single one long __6__ and paid Tracy a $ 15,000 advance. “A pretty money,” said the publisher, “for __7__ writer.”

__8__ Tracy’s characters (人物) are interesting, her stories sometimes __9__ readers uneasy: those about the supernatural. “My mother believed I could __10__ the afterlife world,” she told a close friend. “She used to have me speak with my grandmother, who died many years ago.”

“Can I? I don’t think I can,” Tracy said with a laugh. “But I do have __11__ when things come to me __12__. “Once, she was wondering how to complete a __13__ set in ancient (古代的) China. __14__ the doorbell rang. It was a FedEx delivery man, with a copy of a book on Chinese __15__. It came without her having __16__ it.

Though she has published 45 books, Tracy has remained __17__ by her fame. She lives in the same __18__ she lived 27 years ago -- although in a more comfortable home. There’s more room for __19__ in her life -- and it wasn’t just __ 20__.

1. A. skill   B. experience     C. practice D. method

2. A. duty     B. effort    C. job      D. task

3. A. Instead   B. Normally  C. Certainly     D. Then

4. A. general    B. deep      C. personal    D. lively

5. A. Interested   B. Anxiously   C. Seriously  D. Encouraged

6. A. film       B. story  C. program   D. article

7. A. a foreign   B. a popular   C. an unusual   D. an unknown

8. A. Now that    B. Even though  C. Just because  D. Except that

9. A. find   B. turn      C. leave    D. hold

10. A. make up    B. connect with    C. control    D. explain

11. A. events     B. chances    C. feelings    D. moments

12. A. for no reason  B. from a distance 

    C. by accident D. as gifts

13. A. description   B. pointing     C. scene   D. talk

14. A. Surprisingly   B. Suddenly

   C. Expectedly     D. Fortunately

15. A. cooking    B. history   C. play    D. medicine

16. A. known     B. sent     C. realized   D. ordered       

17. A. unchanged  B. excited   C. determined  D. unmoved     

18. A. life   B. city       C. house     D. way

19. A. success    B. work      C. joy  D. variety

20. A. writing  B. reporting    C. luck   D. fun

For about three years now, I have been writing poetry. It was not until my junior year in high school that I developed an interest, love and skill for writing poetry.
Back in elementary school, I loved to write stories. I would write stories on post-it notes and anywhere I could. Yet when I had to write a limerick(五行打油诗) for an assignment, I could not wrap my head around poetry. I had a very hard time figuring out how to rhyme words and have the words make sense. I eventually tossed the paper with the attempted limerick in the trash. I did not try my hand at poetry again until several years later.
Many years later in my freshman year of high school, my English teacher gave my class a poetry project as an assignment. I still remember my limerick assignment and was afraid of doing the poetry project. For the project, we had to analyze a poem and write a response to it. I chose to respond to Robert Frost’s poem Fire and Ice. I also wrote my own poem first. I became really excited when writing the poem.
Two years later, I started writing poetry as a hobby and for fun. To learn how good or bad my poems were, I handed them in to some magazines and contests. I won second place in the North Carolina Poetry Society’s Sherry Pruitt Award Contest with a poem called The Ocean, and had my two poems published as high merit(优等) poems. I have continued to write poetry, and have even self-published three collections of poetry in both print and e-book formats, which can be found at my store on Lulu.
Now, I love writing poetry, but I don’t hate writing short stories. I just find it more difficult and not my style of writing, even though I still write short stories occasionally.
【小题1】When the author was a pupil, he ___________.

A．was in Grade Three in high school

B．worked as a storekeeper

C．was in Grade One in high school

D．was at college

Several southwestern provinces in China are now experiencing the worst drought(旱灾) since the 1950s. The drought has left 18 million people and 11 million farm animals in Yunnan, Guangxi, Sichuan and Chongqing without enough water supplies. And it has affected 5 million hectares of crops in the provinces.
According to China’s Meteorological Administration (中国气象局), the average daily temperature in Yunnan over the past six months has been two degrees higher than normal. And the province has had only half the rainfall of an ordinary year. In Qinglong county, Guizhou, there had been no rain for 268 days until March 25, when it finally rained for three hours.
To ensure the safety of drinking water, local governments have taken emergency action. Workers in parts of Yunnan are drilling (钻空) daily in the hope of digging 1035 wells by mid-May. Among them, 52 have already started working and 288 are under way, providing 20 percent of the required drinking water. Meanwhile, Yunnan province intends to send more migrants (农民工) to work outside the province as the drought worsens. This will not only help to deal with the drinking water shortages, but also increase those farmers’ income. The government will offer free skill training and organize job fairs.
56 The word “This” in paragraph 3 refers to______.
A. the worsening drought
B. the shortage of drinking water
C. sending more migrants to work outside
D. providing 20 percent of the required drinking water
57 Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A. The drought in southwestern provinces has been the worst ever in China.
B. Guizhou province has had only half the rainfall of an ordinary year.
C. The average temperature in Yunnan is two degrees lower than normal.
D. 1035 wells are expected to be drilled by mid-May in parts of Yunnan.
58 What’s the main idea of the passage?
A. Local governments have taken action to deal with drought.
B. Serious drought hits southwestern provinces in China.
C. More migrants work outside the southwestern provinces.
D.Yunnan government offers free skill training and organizes job fairs.