We're told that writing is dying． Typing on keyboards and screens （1） written communication today． Learning cursive （草书）， joined﹣up handwriting was once （2） in schools． But now， not so much． Countries such as Finland have dropped joined﹣up handwriting lessons in schools （3） typing courses． And in the U． S．， the requirement to learn cursive has been left out of core standards since 2013． A few U． S． states still place value on formative cursive education， such as Arizona， but they're not the（4） ．
Some experts point out that writing lessons can have indirect （5） ． Anne Trubek， author of The History and Uncertain Future of Handwriting， argues that such lessons can reinforce a skill called automaticity． That's when you've perfected a task， and can do it almost without thinking． （6） you extra mental bandwidth to think about or do other things while you're doing the task． In this sense， Trubek likens handwriting to （7） ．
"Once you have driven for a while， you don't （8） think 'Step on gas now'（or） 'Turn the steering wheel a bit'，" she explains． "You just do it． That's what we want children to （9） when learning to write． You and I don't think 'now make a loop going up for the 'I' or 'now look for the letter 'r' on the keyboard'．" Trubek has written many essays and books on handwriting， and she doesn't believe it will die out for a very long time， "if ever"． But she believes students are learning automaticity faster with keyboards than with handwriting： students are learning how to type without looking at the keys at （10） ages， and to type faster than they could write， granting them extra time to think about word choice or sentence structure． In a piece penned （if you'll pardon the expression） for the New York Times last year， Trubek argued that due to the improved automaticity of keyboards， today's children may well become better communicators in text as （11） takes up less of their education． This is a（n）（12） that has attracted both criticism and support．
She explains that two of the most common arguments she hears from detractors regarding the decline of handwriting is that not （13） it will result in a "loss of history" and a "loss of personal touch"．
On the former she （14） that 95% of handwritten manuscripts can't be read by the average person anyway "that's why we have paleographers，" she explains， paleography being the study of ancient styles of writing while the latter refers to the warm （15） we give to handwritten personal notes， such as thank﹣you cards． Some educators seem to agree， at least to an extent．
（1）
| A． |
abandons |
B． |
dominates |
C． |
enters |
D． |
absorbs |
（2）
| A． |
compulsory |
B． |
opposite |
C． |
crucial |
D． |
relevant |
（3）
| A． |
in want of |
B． |
in case of |
C． |
in favour of |
D． |
in addition to |
（4）
| A． |
quantity |
B． |
minimum |
C． |
quality |
D． |
majority |
（5）
| A． |
responsibility |
B． |
benefits |
C． |
resources |
D． |
structure |
（6）
| A． |
granting |
B． |
getting |
C． |
bringing |
D． |
coming |
（7）
| A． |
sleeping |
B． |
driving |
C． |
reviewing |
D． |
operating |
（8）
| A． |
eventually |
B． |
constantly |
C． |
equivalently |
D． |
consciously |
（9）
| A． |
adopt |
B． |
reach |
C． |
acquire |
D． |
activate |
（10）
| A． |
slower |
B． |
later |
C． |
faster |
D． |
earlier |
（11）
| A． |
handwriting |
B． |
adding |
C． |
forming |
D． |
understanding |
（12）
| A． |
trust |
B． |
look |
C． |
view |
D． |
smile |
（13）
| A． |
containing |
B． |
spreading |
C． |
choosing |
D． |
protecting |
（14）
| A． |
commits |
B． |
counters |
C． |
completes |
D． |
composes |
（15）
| A． |
associations |
B． |
resources |
C． |
procedures |
D． |
interactions |
完形填空
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
My father was a self-taught mandolin (曼陀铃) player. He was one of the best string ________ players in our town. He could not ________ music, but if he heard a tune a few times, he could play it.
Dad loved to play the mandolin for his ________ for he knew we enjoyed singing, and hearing him play. He was always there, ________ his time and efforts to making sure that his family had enough in their life. I had grown into a man and had children of my own ________ I realized how much he had sacrificed.
I joined the United States Air________ in January of 1962. Whenever I would come home ________ , I would ask Dad to play the mandolin. He could ________ your soul with the tones that came out of that old mandolin. He seemed to shine when he was playing. You could see his ________ in his ability to play so well for his family.
In 1950, our family moved to Maryland. While working at Todd Steel, he was ________ in an accident. On that particular day, Dad got the third index finger of his left hand ________ by the machine. ________ he didn’t lose enough of the finger where it would stop him picking up anything, it did ________ his ability to play the mandolin. After the accident, every time we asked him to play, he would make ________ for why he couldn’t play. Eventually, we could persuade him and he would say, “Okay. But I can’t hold down on the strings and play as well as before.” For the family it didn’t make any ________ .
In August of 1993, my father was discovered with lung cancer. He chose not to receive treatments so that he could live out the rest of his life ________ dignity. About a week before his death, we asked Dad if he would play the mandolin for us. He made excuses but said “okay”. He knew it would probably be the ________ time he would play for us. He tuned up the old mandolin and played a few ________ . When I looked around, there was not a ________ eye in the family. We saw before us a quiet man with an inner strength. Dad would never play the mandolin for us again. Dad was doing something he had done all his life, ________ . As sick as he was, he was still pleasing others. Dad surely could play that Mandolin!
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完形填空
阅读下面短文, 从短文后各题所给的四个选项 (A、B、C和D) 中, 选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项, 并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A senior monk and a junior monk were traveling together. One day, they came to a ________ with a strong current. As the monks were ________ to cross the river, they saw a very young and beautiful woman. She asked if they could help her ________ to the other side.
The two monks glanced at one another because they had ________ not to have physical contact with women.
Then, without a word, the older monk ________ the woman, carried her across the river, ________ her gently on the other side, and carried on his journey.
The younger monk couldn’t believe ________ had just happened. After rejoining his companion, he was ________ , and several hours passed without a word between them.
________, the younger monk couldn’t contain himself any longer, and asked, “As monks, we are not permitted to have body contact with a woman; how could you then ________ that woman?”
The________ monk looked at him and replied, “Brother, I set her down on the other side of the river, why are you________ carrying her?”
This simple Zen story has a beautiful message about living in the ________ moment. How often do we carry around past ________ , holding onto dislikes when the only person we are really ________ is ourselves?
We all ________ times in life when other people say things or ________ in a way that does harm to us. We can ________ to think carefully over past actions or events, but it will finally weigh us down and use up our energy.
Instead, we can choose to let go of what doesn’t serve us anymore and ________ on the present moment. Until we can find a level of peace and ________ in the present circumstances of our lives, we will never be content, because “now” is all we will ever have.
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完形填空,阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
I am anything but adventurous. So, when I actually ____ the courage to learn driving and, even more ____, passed the test, I fancied being a free spirit at last.
I mistakenly thought I would ____new roads and drive to the farthest horizons. But, trying new highways was next to ____ for me. The time I tried, I got hopelessly ____ and found myself going around in circles. When I eventually found the way home, I ___ this was the end of the adventurous life. I _____ the known routes. When a friend ____ me to make the most of weekend when the traffic was ____ to make new discoveries, I ___ at her with horror. Was I going to ____ a perfectly good weekend raising my blood pressure or was I going to spend it doing as little as possible? _____, I chose the latter option.
After some years of battling the Sharjah-Dubai ___ , I told myself it wasn’t worth ____ my peace of mind. Now I had the Metro, buses and ____ to choose from. Taking taxi was one of the best ____ I have made from a traffic point of view. There was an unbelievable sense of lightness _____ I jumped into a taxi, taken to my destination without being worried.
All one has to do is give directions. I am good at that. Giving directions, I mean. And I am very _____ when I issue these, with no effect on the part of the person driving. As soon as I sit inside, I start the description of the _____ to be taken in great detail so as to _____ the possibility of being taken for a ride.
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完形填空
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
One day, my father drove his employer to another city for a business meeting. On the outskirts (郊区) of town, they ________ for a sandwich lunch. While they ate, several boys playing in the street passed by their ________ . One of the boys limped (跛行). Looking more closely, my father’s boss ________ that the boy had a clubfoot (畸形足). He stepped out of the car and ________ the boy, saying that he was able to help get that foot fixed. The young boy was ________. The businessman wrote down the boy’s name before the boy joined his friends down the street.
The man ________ and said to my father, “Woody, the boy’s name is Jimmy. Find out where he ________ and do your best to get his parents’ ________ to let him have his foot operated on. I’ll pay all the costs.” They finished their sandwiches and went on their ________.
It didn’t take long for my father to ________ Jimmy’s house, a small one that needed paint and repair. For almost an hour, my father ________ explained the plan to Jimmy’s parents. ________ , they looked at each other. When my father ________ they still weren’t quite sure about the generous offer from an unknown benefactor (捐助者).
Later, my father’s employer got in touch with the local government with a ________ to send someone to Jimmy’s home to ________ the family that this was a lawful offer. Soon, with permission papers signed, my father took Jimmy to an excellent ________ in another state. After five operations, his limp disappeared.
His parents watched in ________ as the returned boy stepped lightly toward them. They still could not ________ that a man they had never seen would pay a large sum of money to have a foot corrected for their son.
The ________ benefactor was Mr. Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Company. He always said it’s more fun to do something for people ________ they don’t know who did it.
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完形填空
阅读下面的短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
You can really tell a lot about people’s character by how they act at the grocery store.I________ what had happened in a crowded store when there was a ________ of shopping carts a few days ago.
A well-dressed man, together with his wife and a child, was ________ a cart when another man stopped him. “Excuse me,” the second man said, “ ________ this cart is what I brought here. It’s mine.” The first guy looked rather ________ and then became annoyed. Instead of ________ , he protested, “But someone took my cart!” At that moment, his wife also glared at him, so he unwillingly ________ his ill-gotten gain. The well-dressed man had ________ the useful saying that “Do to others as you would have others do to you.”________ , there are often some shoppers who have changed their minds about ________ some items and put what they have chosen on the ________ shelf. They think that the store ________ shop assistants who should put the things they give up ________ . In the opinion of these fellows, does that mean it’s OK for kids to ________ their rubbish on the floor or everywhere because schools employ ________ to clean the hall? In the ________ , there are express-line cheaters who enter the “10 items or less” line with 14 items because they’re in a hurry or ________ because they are unwilling to queue up. They don’t think that someone will________ them behaving immorally. Even if someone finds them out, they’re ready to ________ that “It depends on what you call an item.”
I consider these fellows as a black sheep and there are a small number of such people. In our society we should be ________, and play by the rules. It is important for us to set a good example to our kids, even in the grocery store.
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