Before high school teacher Kimberly Rugh got down to business at the start of a recent school week, she joked with her students about how she'd had to clean cake out of the corners of her house after her 2-year-old son's birthday party. This friendly combination of chitchat took place not in front of a blackboard but in an E-mail message that Rugh sent to the 145 students she's teaching at the Florida Virtual School, one of the nation's leading online high schools. The school's motto is "any time, any place, any path, any pace". Florida's E-school attracts many students who need flexible scheduling, from young tennis stars and young musicians to brothers Tobias and Tyler Heeb, who take turns working on the computer while helping out with their family's clam-farming business on Pine Island, off Florida's southwest coast. Home-schoolers also are well represented. Most students live in Florida, but 55 hail from West Virginia, where a severe teacher shortage makes it hard for many students to take advanced classes. Seven kids from Texas and four from Shanghai round out the student body. The great majority of Florida Virtual Schoolers—80 percent are enrolled in regular Florida public or private high schools. Some are busy overachievers. Others are retaking classes they barely passed the first time. The school's biggest challenge is making sure that students aren't left to sink or swim on their own. After the school experienced a disappointing course completion rate of just 50 percent in its early years, Executive Director Julie Young made a priority out of what she calls "relationship-building," asking teachers to stay in frequent E-mail and phone contact with their students. That personal touch has helped: The completion rate is now 80 percent. Critics of online classes say that while they may have a limited place, they are a poor substitute for the face-to-face contact and socialization that take place in brick-and-mortar classrooms. Despite opportunities for online chats, some virtual students say they'd prefer to have more interaction with their peers. Students and parents are quick to acknowledge that virtual schooling isn't for everyone. "If your child's not focused and motivated, I can only imagine it would be a nightmare," says Patricia Haygood of Orlando, whose two daughters are thriving at the Florida school. For those who have what it takes, however, virtual learning fills an important niche. "I can work at my own pace, on my own time," says Hackney. "It's the ultimate in student responsibility." Kimberly Rugh Talked about her son's birthday party ______.

If you want to______a pleasant visit, find out as much as possible about the manners and customs of your host country.

20 For right-handed horsemen

em>Directions: Write an essay of no less than 200 words on the topic given below

The prodigal son spent his money extravagantly and soon after he left home he was reduced to a beggar.

Californians and New Englanders speak the same language and______by the same federal laws.

Psychologist Alfred Adler suggested that the primary goal of the psyche(精神)was superiority. Although【C1】______he believed that individuals struggled to【C2】______superiority over others, Adler eventually developed a more【C3】______definition of the drive for superiority. Adler's【C4】______of striving for superiority does not refer to the everyday meaning of the word superiority. He did not mean that we【C5】______seek to surpass one another in【C6】______or position, nor did he mean that we seek to【C7】______an exaggerated importance over our【C8】______. Rather, Adler's drive for superiority involves the desire, to be competent and effective, complete and【C9】______, in whatever one strives to do. Striving for superiority occasionally takes the【C10】______of an exaggerated lust for power. An individual may seek to play god and exercise【C11】______over objects and people. The goal may introduce a【C12】______tendency into our lives, in which we play games of ""dog eat dog"". But such【C13】______of the desire for superiority do not reflect its more【C14】______, constructive nature. According to Adler, striving for superiority is innate and is part of the struggle for survival that human beings share with other species in the【C15】______of evolution. From this【C16】______, life is not【C17】______by the need to reduce【C18】______or restore equilibrium, as Sigmund Freud tended to think; instead, life is encouraged by the desire to move from below to above, from minus to plus, from【C19】______to superior. The particular ways in which individuals undertakes their【C20】______for superiority are determined by their culture, their unique history, and their style of life."

My aunt lost her cat last summer

The success of a speech is often attributed to the skill of the speaker, with merit being given to speakers who are confident, articulate, knowledgeable and able to deliver a speech with conviction. But often it is not the speakers who write these moving speeches, it is a speechwriter. And one industry in which this practice is common is that of politics. So what does it take to be a political speechwriter? Well according to a recent job advertisement from the US Embassy in Britain, a political speechwriter needs to have exceptional interpersonal skills, be detail oriented and able to demonstrate a deep knowledge of their subject. They must also work closely with speakers and be able to relate to their style. Some believe that the best speechwriters have an inherent talent, a natural creative instinct, and that speechwriting is an art form. So what about those of us who do not possess such genius? Can we still produce successful speeches? In an interview with the BBC, Dr. Max Atkinson (a communications specialist) outlined a number of speechwriting techniques. He also illustrated how these techniques have been used in historic speeches. One such technique is introducing contrast. This is extremely useful when presenting a positive spin on a negative issue. One of the most famous examples of this can be seen in a speech given by former American President John F. Kennedy, "Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country." Another technique is the use of three-part lists. Dr. Atkinson explains that this can be an excellent way of adding finality or confirming a statement. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair was a fan of this technique. One of his most famous campaign slogans was "education, education, education". These techniques can be used like tools—they can be chosen from a toolbox and applied as necessary. A few other techniques you might find in a speechwriter's toolbox might be the use of imagery, anecdotes and alliteration. So next time you have to prepare a speech or presentation, try applying one or more of these techniques and see if you have what it takes to be a winning speechwriter. According to the passage, a successful speaker should ______.

Some people say that if the holder of chopsticks pushes them ______ his stomach to even them up instead of tapping them on the table, the chances are he is a coolie.

The majority of the nurses are women

Since his retirement, Peter Smith, who was______a teacher, has written four novels.

A lie is as much a lie, when it is whispered

In one scene of Modern Times Charlie Chaplin was shown trying ______ to keep in time with a rapid assembly line.

An Indian anthropologist, Chandra Thapar, made a study of foreign cultures, which had customs similar to【C1】______of his native land. One culture in【C2】______fascinated him because it reveres one animal【C3】______sacred, much as the people in India【C4】______the cow. The things he discovered might interest you【C5】______you will be studying India as part of this course. The tribe Dr. Thapar【C6】______is called the Asu and is found on the American continent north of the Tamhumara of Mexico. Though it seems to be a【C7】______developed society of its type, it has an overwhelming【C8】______with the care and feeding of the rac—an animal much like a bull in size, strength and temperament. In the Asu tribe, it is almost a social【C9】______to own at least one【C10】______not more racs. People not possessing at least one are【C11】______in low esteem by the community because they are too poor to【C12】______one of these beasts properly. Some members of the tribe, to【C13】______their wealth and social prestige, even own【C14】______of racs. 【C15】______the rac breed is not very healthy and usually does not live more than five to seven years. Each family invests large【C16】______of money each year to keep its rac healthy and shod, for it has a tendency to throw its shoes often, fhere are rac【C17】______in each community, perhaps more than one if the community is particularly【C18】______. These specialists, however, due to the long period of ritual training they must undergo and【C19】______the difficulty of obtaining the right selection of charms to treat the rac, demand【C20】______offerings whenever a family must treat an ailing rac."

I feel rather at a ______ talking to her

It should not be taken for granted that recycling is more efficient than Chucking something away7

There is no happiness except as we take on life-engaging difficulties. Short of the impossible

Bird migration is one of the most interesting yet least understood natural phenomena. Every fall birds from northern latitudes fly in groups to the warmer southern latitudes and then return north in the spring. Scientists agree on the main reasons for migration: to follow the food supply and to avoid harsh climate conditions. For example, insects disappear during the cold months, prompting insect-dependent birds to fly south to warm areas where insects breed. No similar consensus has emerged, however, about how birds are able to navigate. Despite many recent experiments, bird experts still do not know how birds arrive at the same destination every year and then find their way back home in the spring. Some have suggested that birds find their way by following landmarks, such as rivers and mountain ranges. Experiments have confirmed that some species do follow such topographic features. But that method cannot explain how some birds travel at night. Other studies show that some nocturnal birds navigate by the stars. But that explanation cannot explain daytime migration or travel when the skies are cloudy. The most popular explanation currently is that birds are guided by Earth's magnetic poles. The mechanism by which that works has not yet been proved. One theory points to the fact that some birds' brains contain magnetite, a naturally occurring magnetic compound consisting of iron oxide. Magnetite has been found in many animals, including birds. With magnets embedded in their brains, birds would be able to sense the magnetic fields of the North and South Poles. A recent experiment with homing pigeons provided some evidence that magnetite does play a crucial role in migration. Homing pigeons are known to have the ability to return to their homes after being taken hundreds of miles away. Researchers found that they could train homing pigeons to recognize changes in a magnetic field. When a surrounding magnetic field was normal, the birds would gather at one end of a cage. But when the field's polarity was altered, they hopped to the other end, suggesting that they were detecting and responding to changes in the magnetic field. Another theory has been offered to explain this sensitivity to magnetic poles, a theory that draws upon quantum mechanics, which is the study of how particles move inside an atom. It relies on the fact that electrons come in pairs that orbit the nucleus of an atom. The two electrons spin in opposite directions, creating two magnets that neutralize each other. But when molecules split and react with other molecules to form compounds, the electron pairs may no longer spin in opposite directions. Instead, they may repel each other, as when two north ends of magnets are pressed together. The electrons struggle to change direction in order to achieve a stable state in which the two electrons again neutralize each other, giving off no magnetic field. The theory is that these disturbed electron pairs are created in birds when they are exposed to changes in light. The birds can sense the efforts of the electrons in trying to reach a condition of stability because of the slight changes in the pull of the North and South Poles. In this way, the birds can detect the direction of the poles while they are in flight. In one experiment to confirm this effect, a group of European robins were tricked by artificial light to believe that it was time for spring migration. The birds became eager to fly north. The changes in light triggered the electron-pair movement described above, exposing the robins to the magnetic field accompanying the electron pairs. The birds became disoriented and flew in all directions. The simulated magnetic fields were much too weak to be detected by the birds' natural magnetite, suggesting to the experimenters that the electron pairs, not the magnetite, were responsible for the birds' confused flying. The current view, therefore, is that light plays an important role in guiding bird migration. This may be why birds turn their heads from side to side before flying off. Their eyes are collecting the surrounding light, which in turn allows them to process and analyze the existing magnetic fields and to keep themselves pointed in the right direction. According to Paragraph 1, insects influence bird migration in which of the following ways?