读写任务（共1小题，满分25分）

阅读下面的短文，然后按照要求写一篇150词左右的英语短文（包括短文概括和议论文）

The Importance of a Good Education

Getting a good education may be the most important price you can pay, because, perhaps more than anything else, what you do with that huge gray material between your ears will determine your future. These words actually describe millions of people worldwide who choose to limit their potential ability by not widening their education.

A person is much more likely to have better job offers, more successful career with a better education. This, in turn, would allow for much better life style. For example, compare two men. The first person is a high school dropout. The second has a law degree. The high school dropout will be fortunate to get a job in food services, making less than twenty thousand dollars a year, barely surviving each week. To contrast this, the person with the law degree will certainly have a successful career as a lawyer, making over $ 70,000 annually. The lawyer will, of course, have a very wealthy lifestyle. Statistics show that high school dropouts make 42% less money than college graduates.

Our generation will become doctors, lawyers, teachers and leaders of tomorrow. To do this successfully, a higher level of education is very important! We must crave learning. This, in turn, will pay for not only our future but also will help to insure success for those who follow.

【写作内容】

1．概括短文的内容要点，该部分的字数大约30词左右；

2．就“受良好的教育的重要性”这个主题进一步阐述你的看法，至少包含以下的内容要点，该部分的字数大约120词左右：

1）你同意这种观点吗？

2）每个人都有必要接受良好的教育吗？对个人发展有何具体体现？

3）你是如何看待接受教育的？

【写作要求】

你可以使用实例或其它论述方法支持你的观点，也可以参照阅读材料的内容，但不要抄袭阅读材料中的句子。

   Does your pet have a slim figure? According to the Association of Pet Obesity Prevention (APOP), about half of all dogs and nearly 60% of all indoor cats are overweight. Larry Kornegay, president of the American Veterinary Medical Association, says he sees an overweight pet nearly every day, and unusually the owner is overweight. So talking about the topic can be touchy. “I talk about their pet’s health. Still, some clients take it personally.”

   Here are some tips for pet weight loss:

   See the vet(兽医). Have your vet put together a plan and treat any existing medical problems. Pain relief and diet changes may be required for arthritic(患关节炎的) pets, which will allow for exercise to at least begin.

   Skip the crash diet (an attempt to lose weight quickly by strictly limiting the diet). A special weight-loss diet may be suggested. For example, look for the supplement which burns fat and builds muscle mass in foods. Never place any pet on a crash diet, especially cats, which can suffer a potentially fatal liver disease as a result. There’s a safe weight-loss drug for dogs you can ask your vet about.

   Dine alone. “Cut out treats and resist temptation by keeping pets out of the room you’re dining in,” says Chicago vet Sheldon Rubin. You can buy low-calorie treats for dogs and cats. Rubin also recommends mini carrots, small apple slices or blueberries for dogs. What’s important is finding other ways, aside from food, to show your love. Play with your cat using an interactive toy, and take your dog for walks. Walks are great for bonding, and good for you. Studies show people are actually more willing to lose weight themselves if it also will help their pet.

   Feed pets at special times. Pre-measure food carefully—don’t give them a larger meal than ever—and leave it in various places, so pets sniff it out and use the stairs. It’s fun, and it’s good exercise.

1.. The underlined word “touchy” in Paragraph 1 probably means__________

A. sensitive            B. exciting           C. moving          D. pleasant

2.. What can be inferred from the passage?

A. Overweight people usually like overweight pets.

B. Pets’ weight is easier to lose than humans’.

C. Cats have a greater chance of serious liver disease.

D. Overweight people often ignore their pets’ weight.

3. Which of the following methods is healthy for your pets?

   A. Providing them with mini carrots or blueberries.

   B. Keeping them with you when you’re dining.

   C. Supplying them with larger meals or drinks.

   D. Leaving the food in a fixed place for your pets.

4.. What does the passage mainly tell us?

   A. How to feed pets without a crash diet.

   B. The importance of pet weight loss.

   C. How to help pets lose weight.

   D. The problems that pets will meet.

 

Students and Technology in the Classroom
I love my blackberry — it’s my little connection to the larger world that can go anywhere with me. I also love my laptop computer，as it holds all of my writing and thoughts. Despite this love of technology, I know that there are times when I need to move away from these devices（设备）and truly communicate with others.
On occasion, I teach a course called History Matters for a group of higher education managers. My goals for the class include a full discussion of historical themes and ideas. Because I want students to thoroughly study the material and exchange their ideas with each other in the classroom, I have a rule — no laptop, iPads, phones ,etc .When students were told my rule in advance of the class, some of them were not happy.
Most students assume that my reasons for this rule include unpleasant experiences in the past with students misusing technology. There’s a bit of truth to that. Some students assume that I am anti-technology. There’s no truth in that at all. I love technology and try to keep up with it so I can relate to my students.
The real reason why I ask students to leave technology at the door is that I think there are very few places in which we can have deep conversions and truly engage complex ideas. Interruptions by technology often break concentration and allow for too much dependence on outside information for ideas. I want students to dig deep within themselves for inspiration and ideas. I want them to push each other to think differently and make connections between the course the material and the class discussion.
I’ve been teaching my history class in this way for many years and the evaluations reflect student satisfaction with the environment that I create. Students realize that with deep conversation and challenge, they learn at a level that helps them keep the course material beyond the classroom.
I’m not saying that I won’t ever change my mind about technology use in my history class, but until I hear a really good reason for the change, I’m sticking to my plan. A few hours of technology-free dialogue is just too sweet to give up.
【小题1】Some of the students in the history class were unhappy with _______.

A．the course material

B．others’ misuse of technology

C．discussion topics

D．the author’s class regulations

【小题2】The underlined word “engage ”in paragraph 4 probably means _______.

A．explore

B．accept

C．change

D．reject

【小题3】According to the author, the use of technology in the classroom may _______.

A．keep students from doing independent thinking

B．encourage students to have in-depth conversations

C．help students to better understand complex themes

D．affect students’ concentration on course evaluation

【小题4】It can be inferred from the last paragraph that the author _______.

A．is quite stubborn

B．will give up teaching history

C．will change his teaching plan soon

D．values technology-free dialogues in his class

Six Americans are working on a new highway. But this highway won't have any traffic．It's an "ice highway" to the South Pole.

The team has just finished a second year of work on the 1,020-mile highway. "The road is the greatest single footprint of activity we've seen in the Antarctic (南极洲)," said Alan Hemmings, an Australian environmentalist.

The highway will provide a new way for supplies to be trekked (拉, 搬) across the earth on tractor-pulled sleds (雪橇). This method will use a lot less fuel than an aircraft, the current (当前的) way that scientists and supplies reach the Amundsen-Scott Base, a U.S. research station in the South Pole. The highway will also allow for equipment that is too big for planes to carry to be brought to Antarctica．Even with these benefits, there is one disadvantage—a round trip on the road will be 30 days, compared to a few hours by plane.

Making this 20-foot-wide road isn't easy, and it takes a lot of time. The crew (工作队) has been working on the road for two summers, when it's warmer and easier to work with the ice. It probably won't be completed until 2006.

Crevasses (裂缝), or cracks, in the land often make the construction difficult. Crevasses are kind of like pot holes that form when surface ice is stretched．This can be very dangerous, especially when the crevasses are hidden under a layer (层) of snow and can't be seen.

"Last year it took us three months to go three miles across a crevasse field, full of dangerous, hidden crevasses," said the project's manager, John Wright. Each year, more crevasses appear and they have to be filled with snow and ice so the road is safe for travel. The road will also be lined with green flags so travelers know where the safe surface is.

It will probably take ______ years to complete the ice highway.

       A．2     B．4      C．6      D．8

When it is finished, the highway will not be used for ______.

       A．giving supplies to the research station in the South Pole

       B．taking scientists to the South Pole

       C．taking travelers to a tour of Antarctic

       D．bringing huge equipment to Antarctic

How many miles can be covered at most each day if you take the ice highway to the South

Pole?

       A．30.    B．34.    C．68.    D．88.

Which of the following is true according to the passage?

       A．Other crevasses won’t appear if a crevasse has been filled.

       B．Many new crevasses will form after a crevasse has been filled.

       C．Travelers can drive their sleds on the ice highway freely.

       D．There will be less danger if the crevasses are covered by snow.

If you want to learn anything at school, you need to listen to your teachers. Unfortunately, millions of kids can’t hear what their teachers are saying. And it’s not because these students are goofing off. Often, it’s the room’s fault. Building architecture and building design can create echo(回声)-filled classrooms that make hearing difficult.

Children with hearing impairments（损伤）suffer most from noisy classrooms. They sometimes can’t hear questions that other students ask in class. Compared with kids with healthy hearing, they have a harder time picking up new vocabulary words by hearing them in talking.

Even kids with normal hearing have a harder time in the classroom when there’s too much noise. Younger children in particular have trouble separating important sounds – like a teacher’s voice – from background noise. Kids with learning disabilities and speech impediments（障碍）and kids for whom English is a second language also have a harder time learning in noisy situations.

In recent years, scientists who study sound have been asking schools to reduce background noise, which may include loud air-conditioners and pipes. They’re also targeting outdoor noises, such as highway traffic. Noise reduction is a big deal. Why? Because quieter classrooms might make you smarter by letting you hear your lessons better.

“It’s so obvious that we should have quiet rooms that allow for access to the lesson,” says Dan Ostergren, a hearing scientist. “Sometimes it surprises me that we spend so much time discussing this topic. I just want to go. Why is this hard for anyone to grasp?”

The underlined part “goofing off” in the first paragraph can be replaced by “      ”.

A. lazy                  B. intelligent                 C. sleepy               D. foolish

Who is most affected by noisy classrooms?

A. Children with learning disabilities.          B. Children with hearing impairments.

C. Children with speech impediments.         D. Children with normal hearing.

Why should noise be reduced in classrooms?

A. Quiet classrooms are suitable for kids to have discussions.

B. Quiet classrooms help kids recover from hearing impairments.

C. Kids can become smarter after hearing lessons better.

D. Kids can’t separate sounds of air-conditioners and pipes.

What would be the best title for the passage?

A. Noisy classrooms                                  B. Classroom design

C. The sense of hearing                              D. Disabled kids