Directions: Read the following passage. Fill in the numbered by using the information from the passage.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
Ready to give up long showers, water parks, and unlimited water gushing（喷涌） out of your taps? A new study says more than three-hundred-thirty-five-million people are faced with water shortage now. The oceans are full, of course. But the liquid—fresh, clean water for drinking and watering crops is in short supply in many parts of the world. Rivers are running low, lakes are shrinking, streams have stopped flowing, and groundwater is being pumped dry. However, the demand for water keeps increasing. So there comes inevitably the water crisis!
What is causing the crisis? Experts say it is a complex combination of climate change and rapid population growth. On the one hand, global climate change threatens to reduce water supplies due to decreased rainfall. On the other hand, population growth is driving explosive demand for water, prompting rivers in thirsty countries to be tapped for nearly every drop and driving governments to pump out so-called fossil water.
Lack of water may result in several problems. It may increase health problems. Lack of water often means drinking waters are not safe. Lack of water may also result in more international conflict. Countries may have to compete for water in the future. Some countries now get sixty percent of their fresh water from other countries. And lack of water would affect the ability of developing to improve their economies. This is because new industries often need a large amount of water when they are beginning.
One partial answer to the world water shortage, at least for countries near the sea, is to build more desalination plants that change seawater into fresh water. Another suggested solution is for water-rich countries, such as Canada, to sell water to countries which are poor in water. A third suggestion is for countries to adopt ways of increasing the freshwater supply, such as teaching farmers in Africa methods to get clean rainwater. And nearly everyone agreed that the amount of water on our planet can’t be changed, but the way we use it can be if more people realized the problem. Last and the most important, public should be aware of saving water to defeat the water crisis.
Title:
I. Present situation:
★Rivers are
★Lakes are shrinking.
★Streams have stopped flowing.
★
II.
★climate change →decreased rainfall →
★population growth →rivers
III. Consequences:
★health problems
★
★the affected ability of developing to improve economies
IV.
★turning seawater into freshwater
★water-rich countries selling water to
★exploring methods of getting clean rainwater
★changing the way people use water
★arousing
Frederick M. Hess is the director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, which is a nonprofit organization that conducts research on many public issues. He says that a long summer vacation doesn’t make sense in today’s world.
Can American students afford to take a summer vacation? In a summer vacation, millions of kids spend valuable time sending messages, watching TV, playing video games and doing shopping in the mall. They will also be putting their academic futures at risk.
Summer vacation once made sense in the past when you didn’t need an education to get a good job. But now things have changed. For today’s students, academic skills are important to students’future success, but such skills are affected in the summertime. Many nations don’t give kids an American-style summer vacation. They offer no more than seven consecutive（连续的） weeks of vacation. Most American school districts offer up to thirteen weeks. To compete in the global marketplace, Americans must be prepared to go up against international competitors.
Summer vacation also causes challenges for today’s families. In the 1960s, more than 60% of families had a stay-at-home Mom. Now two-thirds of American children live in households where every adult works. For these families, summer vacation can be more burden than break. Someone must watch the kids.
But the biggest problem may be how summer vacation hurts academic achievement. Researchers have found that disadvantaged students lose significant ground in the summertime.
A longer school year does not have to be an invitation to hard boring work. Rather, it should allow time-pressed teachers to conduct richer and more imaginative lessons. Schools would have more time to devote to athletics, languages, music and the arts. Summer vacation can be a grand thing. But in the 21st century, it may also be outdated.
Title: Summer Vacation
| Theme |
A long summer vacation isn’t |
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| Basic Information |
13 weeks in most American schools |
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| Students’ |
·Sending messages and watching TV ·Playing video games ·Doing shopping |
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| Disadvantages |
· ·Being a ·Hurting students’ academic achievement and resulting in |
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| Suggestion |
A longer school year does not have to |
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| Though being a ground thing, summer vacation might be out of |
The family sphere(范围) used to be defined by its isolation from the public realm. There was the public male realm（领域）of "rational accomplishment" and cruel competition, and the private female and child-rearing sphere of home, intuition（直觉）and emotion. The private realm was supposed to be isolated from the realities of adult life. For both better and worse, television and other electronic media tend to break down the difference between those two worlds. The membrane around the family sphere is much more permeable(可渗透的). TV takes public events and transforms them into dramas that are played out in the privacy of our living rooms, kitchens and bedrooms.
Parents used to be the channel through which children learned about the outside world. They could decide what to tell their children and when to tell it to them. Since children learn to read in stages, books provide a kind of natural screening process, where adults can decide what to tell and not tell children of different reading abilities. Television destroyed the system that separated adult from child knowledge and separated information into year-by-year slices for children of different ages. Instead, it presents the same information directly to children of all ages, without going through adult filters.
So television presents a real challenge to adults. While a parent can read a newspaper without sharing it with children in the same room, television is accessible to everyone in that space. And unlike books, television doesn't allow us to flip（翻转）through it and see what's coming up. We may think we're giving our children a lesson in science by having them watch the Challenger take off, and then suddenly they learn about death, disaster and adult mistakes.
Books allow adults to discuss privately what to tell or not tell children. This also allows parents to keep adult material secret from children and keep their secret keeping secret. Take that same material and put it on The Today Show and you have 800,000 children hearing the very things the adults are trying to keep from them. "Television takes our kids across the globe before parents give them permission to cross the street."
More importantly, children gradually learn that adults are worried and anxious about being parents. Actually, television has also places families under a lot of stress.
How Television Changes Childhood?
| Main comparisons |
Contexts |
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| Distance between __ |
Homes used to be isolated from the ____ |
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| Homes nowadays are __ |
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| Media through which children can obtain information |
In the past, children might learn __ |
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| More information is got directly through TV and other electronic media, which breaks down the __ |
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| ___ |
Traditionally, kids could only knew what they should learn at their age, carefully___ |
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| Everything can possibly be known by children, including many aspects of __ |
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| Effects on family education |
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| Parental instruction |
Families are now under greater stress than before. Adults are anxious about being parents and faced with new __ |
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Society today tells us that automatic pencils are a lot better than manual ones which you have to sharpen every 5 seconds. Maybe this is true. However, there are some benefits from using an old-fashioned traditional pencil which you cannot get with an automatic one.
To be honest, it is quite convenient to use an automatic pencil with an easy press on the button. Meanwhile a manual pencil doesn’t enjoy any plus point. But it is sort of strange that manual pencils should be used in standardized tests today. Chances are that the manual pencil makes the line of grey look nicer.
Nowadays, it is always a battle of who has the newest, most high-tech gadget(小装置), from pencils, cars to clothes. The newer it is, it seems the more popular it becomes. If you walk around school, you will for sure find at least three out of ten people walking around with the latest iPhone 4S. If you are one of the luckier ones walking around with the newest Nokia phones, you will get laughed at.
Maybe an automatic pencil is better at the moment, but after using it for a while, usually the pencil will break. Most people lose them and don’t remember to carry extra lead(铅芯) to fill them up with, as it sometimes can do so much that it needs a lot of lead, just like an iPhone 4S needs to be charged after it has done so much work. As for the manual pencil, the lead will also run out but unlike the mechanical pencil it will last longer. Besides, the automatic pencil and the iPhone 4S are more likely to get stolen while the manual pencil along with the Nokia phone will be left alone and most likely-returned to you.
| Title |
Automatic Pencils |
| People’s |
●The newer-gadget like the iPhone 4s becomes more ●You will be |
| Advantages |
●We can use the automatic pencil more easily by ●The manual pencil is ●The manual pencil can last longer. |
| |
●The automatic pencils usually tend to ● People often ● |
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Have you heard or read stories about people who are sick and have been healed by listening to music? Is it a miracle or a successful form of medicine? Can listening to music relieve pain?
Around the world, music therapy(疗法) is being used to treat different medical conditions and illnesses. Some of the ways people use music therapy are to reduce pain, such as in childbirth or during cancer treatments, or to stimulate brain activity after an injury or money loss. Music therapy has also been successful in aiding children to overcome disabilities. Children can move their bodies with the music and stamp along to the beat.
Why is music a useful therapy? Music is soothing and relaxing, but it also stimulates our brains. Emotionally and physically, we respond to the sounds of music. But the complexity of music (the different tempos, rhythms, melodies and harmonies) provokes(激发) the biggest response. Thus, classical music is most typically used for therapies due to complex sounds and patterns. Although rap or hip hop might be fun to listen to, it’s unlikely that such styles of music would produce the same kind of therapeutic effect. Playing a musical instrument rather than simply listening to music can also be therapeutic for some people, helping relieve stress and anxiety.
Have scientists been able to prove that music can heal disease? Music has been shown to reduce pain in cancer patients by increasing the release of endorphins(内啡肽). Endorphins are the body’s natural painkillers, and when we listen to music, our brains respond by releasing these natural painkillers. It has also been known to contribute to the brain development of the babies who have just been born and even babies still in the mother’s womb. Certain, types of music have also been found to lower blood pressure and slow a person’s heart rate. Many people are hopeful that music could replace the need for some medications(药物) that are normally used to treat certain illnesses. At present, music therapy is used in a variety of settings such as hospitals, rehabilitation centers, nursing homes, day cares and schools.
Although music therapy is not yet considered a mainstream treatment, it is recognized more and more as a useful addition to traditional treatment. So next time you are feeling low or stressed out, put on some relaxing music and let the music heal you.
| Title: Music That |
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| The |
To treat different medical conditions and illness |
To reduce pain |
| to |
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| To overcome |
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| How does music therapy |
Music is smoothing and relaxing; it stimulates our brains; classical music is a |
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| Scientific proofs |
Music has been shown to reduce pain in cancer patients by increasing the release of endorphins. It has also been known to contribute to the brain development of the |
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| |
Music therapy is recognized as a useful |
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Being on bad terms with your neighbors can make your life frustrating day after day. But taking the time to establish a good relationship with your neighbors has a good many benefits. The community will be friendlier, the neighborhood safer, and the area a nicer place to live in. There are some suggestions to develop a good relationship with your neighbors.
Whether you’re new in the neighborhood or new residents who have just moved into your block, introduce yourself. Say hello, offer a welcoming gift and share or ask about the local area.
Sometimes, you can remedy(补救) problems before they even start; for example, if you do a lot of yard work, let them know in advance and mention that if it’s getting too loud, they shouldn’t hesitate to let you know.
Be aware of the shared walls, if you and your neighbors share adjacent(相邻的) living spaces. Try to put noisy household appliances such as washing machines and tumble dryers away from the shared walls.
Keep your pet dog on a leash(皮带) if it has a habit of running rampant on your neighbors’ lawns, especially if they have a pet cat or a pet dog of their own, and ensure to clean up after it.
When you park your vehicle, be sure not to block anyone’s access, or make them have to pull out of a very tight spot. Don’t slam(砰地关上) your car doors late at night.
Weed your garden in a regular way, because the presence of weeds in your yard is not only unsightly but can also spread to your neighbor’s yard.
Really good neighbors watch out for each other. They offer to help, especially on matters that impact the larger neighborhood and look for opportunities to communicate. Great neighbors make for great neighborhood.
| Topic: To be a good neighbor |
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| Importance of |
● Being on ● A good relationship with neighbors has numerous benefits, |
| Steps to develop a good relationship with your neighbors |
● Introduce yourself when you are in a new area. ● Care about others and let them know they can point out your problem without any ● Be ● Make ● When you park your car late at night, ● Weed your garden |
| Conclusion |
● Good neighbors have a(an) ● Great neighbors |
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