Do you remember the Millennium (千禧年) Goals? When world leaders celebrated the year 2000 with a serious promise to reduce poverty (贫穷) and hunger, check the spread of AIDS, get boys and girls into school, and improve public health, all by 2015? Well, three years down the road, and the UNDP's yearly collection of facts and figures already shows that if we carry on as we are, the only goal likely to be met is that for reducing poverty by a half, and that is entirely due to the success of one country—China. It is so vast that the fast-growing economy in China lifts millions of people above the poverty line, even though in Africa, Latin America and the former Soviet Union, people have actually been getting poorer. Otherwise, progress is good only in parts. East Asia should meet its goal of reducing hunger by a half by 2015, and Latin America and the Caribbean are not far behind, but at the present speed of progress, Africa and South Asia won't get there for another hundred years. The good news is that it can be done—there are success stories. Ghana—an economic basket case in the eighties and early nineties—has managed to find a way out of its difficulties and it's now comfortably in the middle range of countries, way ahead of the much more naturally wealthy Nigeria. For Congo, Cambodia or Iraq, ruined by war, or every southern African country damaged by AIDS, there is a Mauritius or a South Korea steadily working its way up the league table towards a better life for its people.

Jessamine is a calligrapher(书法家) and she has, over the years, printed out the history of her town by printing up wedding and death announcements, invitations and menus. Now she has another ability—she finds herself forced to print out such calligraphy of events before they happen. She knows this is a precious and dangerous gift. She persuades a man in town to accept the love affair between his daughter and a young man whom he dislikes because Jessamine has already printed the wedding announcement. Her relationship with Callie, that young woman, is a wonderful inter-generational friendship. When Jessamine prints her own death notice, she deals with it as wisely as she has dealt with all the rest. The story of Jessamine is only 51 pages long and, as such, there isn't much difficulty for less able readers. Meanwhile, the idea that one can use a magic(魔法) power to do good secretly is such an intriguing idea that more able readers will also be drawn to the book. Readers might be willing to read the book closely to see how DeFelice, the writer of the story, managed to describe such a complex(复杂的) person in so few pages and do it so skilfully. There are times when the passages come close to poetry and students might like to read particular selections aloud. For example, when Jessamine learns that Callie will not win the scholarship which could give her a fresh start in life, the way she gives Callie the strength to accept the disappointment and yet gain self-respect is worth examining.

Daniel: Good morning, madam. I' m Daniel. I' m applying for the position of manager.Madam: Sit down, please.【K1】______ did you learn about our company?Daniel: I got to know【K2】______ company through such famous brands as LUX, LIPTOS and WALLS. Your products impressed me deeply.Madam: Well, please tell me【K3】______ about your past work achievement.Daniel: All right, Madam. When【K4】______ (work) for my previous company, I succeeded in raising the yearly sales volume (销售额)【K5】______ 25% .Madam; Oh, that is quite an achievement! Why have you decided to change jobs?Daniel: I hope to change【K6】______ I am looking for a more challenging position. There are no more【K7】______ (opportunity) for me to grow in my current job.Madam: OK, I understand. But why have you made the【K8】______ (choose) to work for us?Daniel: I have【K9】______ (careful) studied the information about your company on the Internet and I have checked your company' s homepage. The working conditions are so excellent here. I【K10】______ (sincere) hope to be a member of your company.Madam: That's fine. Thanks for coming to see us. I will let you know about the job within the week.

—Shall we eat Italian food tonight?—______.

Where did Mary go?

A thief dropped a winning lottery ticket(彩票) at the scene of his crime, but he has been given a lesson in【C1】______ . The man whom he robbed(抢劫)【C2】______ the ticket and won the ￡25,000 prize, but he managed to find the thief, and handed over the【C3】______ . The robbery happened when Professor Sabbatuccci was changing a tyre(轮胎) on a highway. Another motorist, who stopped 'to【C4】______ ' , stole a suitcase from his car and drove off. The professor found the【C5】______ ticket and put it in his pocket before【C6】______ home. Next day, the professor saw the lottery【C7】______ on TV and realized it was a winner. He【C8】______ the ￡25,000 prize. Then began a【C9】______ with his conscience(良心). In the end, he decided he could not keep the money【C10】______ he had been robbed. He then put a【C11】______ in newspapers and made an announcement on the radio,【C12】______ : 'I'm trying to find the man who robbed me. I have ￡25,000 for him—a lottery【C13】______ . Please meet me. ' The professor received hundreds of【C14】______ from people who were hoping to【C15】______ him into handing them the cash. But there was one voice he【C16】______ —and he arranged to meet the man in a park. The robber gave back the【C17】______ and burst into tears. He could not【C18】______ what was happening. 'Why didn't you【C19】______ the money?' he asked. The professor replied: ' I couldn't because it's not mine. ' Then he walked off, turning down the thief's【C20】______ to share the prize.

Eating Etiquette What should you do or not do when you are eating in Britain? The British generally pay a lot of attention to good table manners (举止). Even young children are expected to eat properly with knives and forks. We eat most of our food with cutlery . The foods we don' t eat with a knife, fork or spoon include sandwiches and fruit. Things you should do: If you cannot eat a certain type of food or have some special needs, tell your host several days before the dinner party. If you are a guest, it is polite to wait until your host starts eating or invites you to do so. It shows consideration. Always chew (咀嚼) and swallow (吞咽) all the food in your mouth before taking more or taking a drink. Always say thank you when served something. It shows your gratefulness. You may eat things like chicken with your fingers if you are having a picnic with friends or in very informal settings. Otherwise always use a knife and fork. When eating bread rolls, break off a piece before buttering. Eating it whole shows poor taste. On formal dining occasions(场合) it is good manners to take some butter from the butter dish with your bread knife and put it on your side plate. Then butter pieces of the roll using this butter. This prevents the butter in the dish getting full of small pieces of bread as it is passed around. In a restaurant, it is normal to pay for your food by putting your money on the plate the bill comes on.

阅读下面的对话，根据其内容写一篇有关the British Museum的说明文。要求：1．所写短文应与对话相关内容意义相符，涵盖其要点。2．用你自己的语言来表达，可以改写对话中的句子，但不可以照抄原句。注意：词数在80词左右。Ann: James! So you are back from your trip to the U. K. !James: Yes, we flew back from London last night. What a trip!Ann: Did you enjoy it?James: Very much. It is certainly most unique for me as someone who's deeply interested in history and culture. I especially like the British Museum. Ann: Oh, the famous British Museum. I heard that it's one of the largest museums in the world. James: Yes, you are right; it has 13 million pieces of collections, imagine that! And it's one of the oldest, too. Ann: How old is it? James: It was founded in 1753. It grew from a personal collection to include objects from all continents, until it becomes the universal museum it is today, with objects from the ancient world as well as the modern. Ann: Did you see all the collections? James: No, we went there for two days while we were staying in London. I was particularly fond of the department of Greece and Rome. The beautiful statues, vases and jewelry are marvelous. We also visited some other departments, such as the department Egypt and Sudan, department of paintings and drawings and so on. You should see it someday. Ann: Sure.

Nipponex Electrics Tokyo, Japan 27 August, 2014Amperlite Ltd 146 O'Leary St Dublin, Ireland Dear Sirs, Improved ways of production make us able to offer you our change of Drilite batteries (电池) at a reduced price for large quantities. Further information of the new prices for your market are sent to you together with the letter, and you will see that the price has already reduced 5 percent. As c. i. f (成本、保险加运费) to Dublin is included in our prices, you will agree that they are clearly lower than those of producers of the same batteries, both here in Japan and elsewhere. The quality of our products remains the same—only the finest chemicals are used. The new prices are for the least orders of 1,000 pounds and will begin from January 1. Immediate sending off is sure because enough can be made whenever you require it. We appreciate your past dealing and cooperation (合作) with us, and look forward to supplying you in the new year at the new prices. Yours truly, Nipponex Electrics

Dick only had some Coke at the party, because he always________asleep after drinking wine.

Parents might say "honesty is the best policy," but when it comes to talking with their own children, mom and dad lie surprisingly often, finds a new study carried out by researchers in the University of Toronto, Canada. Almost every parent in the study admits having come up with some tales to influence a child' s actions and feelings. For example, a parent is annoyed by a child's crying and says, "The police will come to get you if you don't stop crying now. " In another example, an uncle has just died and the child is told that he has become a star to watch over the child. Whether parents lie to benefit themselves or to protect the child, researchers suggest such talltales could give children mixed messages at a time when they are trying to figure out how to deal with the social world. Lies could also harm the parent-child relationship. It could even keep children from learning certain rules. "If I am always lying to the child in order to get the child to do X, Y, or Z, then they have never learned why they should do X, Y , or Z." Heyman, one of the researchers, said. Heyman also said, "It is common for parents to try out various ways, including lying, to guide a child, but most parents never think about how it will influence their child. I think parents should figure it out in advance what their general beliefs are, so when it comes to the situation you're working with your beliefs rather than what comes into your head at the moment."

I became interested in writing at an early age. So when my fourth-grade teacher told me about a【C1】______ writer' s conference where students my age could【C2】______ published writers, I decided to go. I began thinking about the writers whose stories I【C3】______ —Judy Blume, Beverly Cleary, Shell Silverstein and【C4】______ if they would be at this conference. Well, I went to the conference, but I was a little【C5】______ . None of them were there. But the conference was well【C6】______ , and every half hour we would move on to hear a new writer speak. Soon the【C7】______ period of the day came. A man introduced himself and gave the same little speech we had heard since that morning.【C8】______ , he threw in a twist(转折). "【C9】______ are more than just words thrown together," he said. " Words are more than just【C10】______ thrown together. You must also【C11】______ the mood or the tone(语气) of your ideas. " He let that idea sink in and then【C12】______ us about the difference between a house and a home. We all thought that was a【C13】______ question, and made some wild guesses at it. "Class," he【C14】______ , "the difference between a house and a home is in the mood or the tone. A house is the【C15】______ —the wood, the bricks, the lighting, the refrigerator. A home is the love and warmth and comfort you【C16】______ as you walk through the【C17】______ . " I've kept that【C18】______ in my memory ever since that day. Writing is more than just filling up a blank page with【C19】______ ; it' s about expressing your ideas with clarity(清晰) and the mood. And that' s why I【C20】______ it.

It didn' t come as a big surprise________the flight was going to be delayed.

Pack your bags. Hold the mail. It's time to turn your dream vacation into a real trip. ''I haven't seen a buyer's market like this in 25 years," says travel expert Peter Greenberg. "Everything is on sale. Even the high end of the market is quietly offering add-ons : a free night here, a spa(水疗) pass there. " In a bad economy, this comes as good news for many. Whether you want to fly across the country or drive across the state line, here are places that offer plenty to do. For anyone who can't bear to sit still, big cities are the best choice for weekend trips. Zero in on cities that attract business travelers during the week. The big-name hotels empty out on the weekends and will give tourists a better deal. Chicago, Illinois: One of America's best-looking city centers, especially in the spring and summer. Spend a sunny day in Millennium Park, or consider an evening at Grant Achatz' s Alinea restaurant in Lincoln Park. Las Vegas, Nevada: It's never been so easy to score a deal on the Strip. Five-star hotels are marked down to three-star prices. Book a luxury suite(豪华套房) for $89 a night at www, trumplasvegashotel. com. San Francisco, California: It' s rare for a major city to have such an extraordinary physical setting—the views of the bay (海湾) from the hills and the Ferry Building Marketplace are striking. It's also a walkable city with great museums. You can visit the new California Academy of Sciences building in Golden Gate Park. Go early! Portland, Oregon: The International Rose Test Garden is the one place one never tires of visiting. It's green, friendly, and laid-back. There are over 10,000 rosebushes, and because it's a test garden, the public has never seen many of these 550 varieties. The Rose Festival is one of the biggest celebrations in the city and runs May 22 to June 14.

Where does this conversation take place?

One afternoon I was sitting at my favorite table in a restaurant, waiting for the food I had ordered. Suddenly I【C1】______ that a man sitting at a table near the window kept glancing in my direction【C2】______ he knew me. The man had a newspaper【C3】______ in front of him, which he was【C4】______ to read, but I could【C5】______ that he was keeping an eye on me. When the waiter brought my【C6】______ , the man was clearly puzzled (困惑) by the【C7】______ way in which the waiter and I【C8】______ each other. He seemed even more puzzled as【C9】______ went on and it became【C10】______ that all the waiters in the restaurant knew me. Finally he got up and went into the【C11】______ . When he came out, he paid his bill and【C12】______ without another glance in my direction. I called the owner of the restaurant and asked what the man had【C13】______"Well," he said, "that man was a detective(侦探). He【C14】______ you here because he thought you were the man he【C15】______ . " "What?" I said, showing my【C16】______ . The owner continued, "He came into the kitchen and showed me a photo of the wanted man. I【C17】______ say he looked very much like you! Of course, since we know you, we told him that he had made a【C18】______ . " "Well, it' s really【C19】______ I came to a restaurant where I' m known," I said. "【C20】______ , I might have been in trouble."

In July 1994 Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, was struck by 21 pieces of a comet (彗星). When the fragments (碎片) landed in the southern part of the giant planet, the explosions were watched by scientists here on earth. But what if our own planet was hit by a comet?The year is 2094. It has been announced that a comet is heading towards the Earth. Most of it will miss our planet, but two fragments will probably hit the southern part of the Earth. The news has caused panic. On 17 July, a fragment four kilometres wide enters the Earth's atmosphere with a huge explosion. About half of the fragment is destroyed. But the major part survives and hits the South Atlantic at 200 times the speed of sound. The sea boils and an enormous wave is created and spreads. The wall of water rushes towards southern Africa at 800 kilometres an hour. Cities on the African coast are totally destroyed and millions of people are drowned. The wave moves into the Indian Ocean and heads towards Asia. Millions of people are already dead in the southern part of the Earth, but the north won' t escape for long. Tons of broken pieces are thrown into the atmosphere by the explosions. As the sun is hidden by clouds of dust, temperatures around the world fall to almost zero. Crops are ruined. Wars break out as countries fight for food. A year later civilization has collapsed. No more than 10 million people have survived. Could it really happen? In fact, it has already happened more than once in the history of the Earth. The dinosaurs(恐龙) were on the Earth for over 160 million years. Then 65 million years ago they suddenly disappeared. Many scientists believe that the Earth was hit by a space fragment. The dinosaurs couldn't survive in the cold climate that followed and they became extinct. Will we meet the same end?

阅读下面的对话，根据其内容写一篇有关Zoe面试的记叙文。要求：1．所写短文应与对话相关内容意义相符，涵盖其要点。2．用你自己的语言来表达，可以改写对话中的句子，但不可以照抄原句。注意：词数80词左右。Bob: Hi, Zoe!Zoe: Hi, Bob. Are you on your way to the library?Bob: Yes. You know, I' m planning to further my studies abroad, so I have to work hard. How did your interview go yesterday?Zoe: Not so well. I don't think I' m going to get the job.Bob: What happened?Zoe: First of all, I was late for the interview.Bob: Oh, that's too bad. I thought you went early.Zoe: Yes, I did! The bus ride took me an hour and a half. What's worse, when I got off, I just couldn't find the place. According to the address they gave me, it should be just there, and the place was so remote I couldn't get a taxi.Bob: What did you do?Zoe: I asked several people along the way, and walked for another 15 minutes until I finally saw the building.Bob: Thank goodness.Zoe: When I got to their office, they asked me to do a product design in half an hour.Bob: That' s crazy. Did you finish it in time?Zoe: No. Then a woman came and asked me some questions about why I want to work for their company, what salary I expect, etc. But I don' t think they are going to hire me.Bob: Not your fault.Zoe: Yeah. I know.

Jonny: Hey! I' m just practicing Tai Chi(太极). Would you like to join me?Peter: I know nothing about it. Is it difficult?Jonny: It seems easy, but you need a lot of practice. You just follow me like this.Peter: OK. Don't laugh【K1】______ me. I may look funny.Jonny: Bend your knees slightly and reach out your arms like tree branches, naturally and【K2】______ (soft). Try to keep your body straight. Move slowly, then be sure to keep your balance and don't let your body shake.Peter: I cannot control my body well. My legs become【K3】______ (pain).Jonny: Keep【K4】______ (hold) your position for a while. It helps develop your strength and flexibility. Raise your leg and let【K5】______ stay in the air for seconds.Peter: I feel my legs shaking. I cannot do this any longer.Jonny: Be patient! Tai Chi is【K6】______ (call) "shadow boxing" in English. It asks you to act like water: to be flexible as well【K7】______ strong. In real competition, a Tai Chi master borrows the strength of the competitor and uses this energy to fight back. The【K8】______ ( hard) you try to beat him, the more likely you will get hit. He controls you!Peter: Unbelievable! Oh. ..【K9】______ you don't mind, I'll stop and take a deep【K10】______ .

I was in my third year of teaching writing at Ralph High School in New York, when one of my students, 15-year-old Mikey, gave me a note from his mother. It explained his absence (缺席) from class the day before: "Dear Mr. McCort, Mikey's grandmother, who is eighty years of age, fell down the stairs from too much coffee and I kept Mikey at home to take care of her and his baby sister so I could go to my job. Please excuse Mikey and he'll do his best in the future. P. S. His grandmother is OK." I had seen Mikey writing the note at his desk. I said nothing. Most parental-excuse notes I received were penned by my students. If I were to deal with them, I'd be busy 24 hours a day. The writers of those notes didn't realize that honest excuse notes were usually dull: "Peter was late because the alarm clock didn't go off. " The students always said it was hard putting 200 words together on any subject, but when they produced excuse notes, they were excellent. So I decided to type out a dozen excuse notes and gave them to my classes. I said, "They're supposed to be written by parents, but actually they are not. True, Mikey?" The students looked at me nervously. "Now, this will be the first class to study the art of the excuse note-the first class, ever, to practice writing them." Everyone smiled as I went on, "Today I'd like you to write ' An Excuse Note from Adam to God' or ' An Excuse Note from Eve to God'. " Heads went down. Pens raced across paper. For the first time ever I saw students so immersed (专心的) in their writing, they had to be asked to go to lunch by their friends. The next day everyone had excuse notes. Heated discussions followed. But suddenly I saw the headmaster at the door. He entered the classroom and walked up and down, looking at papers, and then said, "I'd like you to see me in my office." My heart sank. When I stepped into his office, he came to shake my hand and said, " I just want to tell you that that lesson, that task, whatever the hell you were doing, was great. Those kids were writing on the college level. Thank you."