We see a lot of advertisements almost everyday and everywhere. Some advertisements are good, but some are not so good. In this section, you are asked to write an essay on the positive/negative effects of some advertisements. You can take either stand and provide specific reasons and examples to support your idea. You should write at least 150 words.

BPart B/B

Recently you have seen an advertisement in China Daily to recruit the volunteers for the World Horticultural Expo in Beijing. You are supposed to write a letter to apply for it. You should write about 100 words on the ANSWER SHEET. Do not sign your own name. Use "Li Ming" instead. Do not write the address.(10 points)

BSection III Writing/B

BPart ADirections: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D./B

BPart B/B

The highest anxiety moment in the holiday season must be the moment just before your loved ones unwrap their gifts. The ribbon comes untied, the paper falls to the floor—what will their expression be?【C1】______out the right gift can be very difficult, and we can easily make mistakes. Before【C2】______a gift, we all ask ourselves two questions: How much to spend and what to get.【C3】______both questions are complex, the more complex one by far is what to get. We may not know the exact【C4】______of the other person;【C5】______we know what kind of gift they would absolutely love, we might still not know the exact color, size, etc.【C6】______these risks, giving an ill-suited gift risks showing the other person exactly how little we really know them. And from there the path to a【C7】______relationship is short The risk of giving the wrong thing is【C8】______gift givers often end up giving consumables such as wine and chocolate. After all, these are unlikely to be the "wrong" gift for anyone. But there's a【C9】______: These safe gifts are not very "gifty" and are unlikely to strengthen our relationship with the recipient【C10】______, when we give jewelry, art, or furniture, we take a risk that the other person will not like the【C11】______. But these risky gifts are more "gifty" and, if they are successful, will【C12】______their goal of strengthening the social【C13】______between the person giving the gift and the person【C14】______it. So how much risk do most gift givers take? Not surprisingly, the majority of givers don't risk giving more risky gifts. But were they right in playing it【C15】______? In short: They were not. A research showed that, in general, gift givers don't【C16】______how much others will enjoy their gift.【C17】______, gift receivers preferred the riskier gift and wished that gift givers took more【C18】______. So perhaps this holiday season we should put an extra effort into gift giving. Let's throw caution to the winds,【C19】______the wine, chocolates, and gift certificates and give real gifts. The biggest risk is being【C20】______.

It only takes ten minutes, but reading your baby a bedtime story could yield benefits for years to come, scientists said today. Research shows that children who are【C1】______to a lot are faster at understanding words. This【C2】______processing helps them do better at school— and could【C3】______help them get a good job, have a happy【C4】______and keep on the right side of the law. Psychologist Anne Fernald said that the effects are so【C5】______that talking to children should be【C6】______as importantly as feeding them. And it is never too【C7】______to start. Dr Fernald said: "【C8】______you want your kid to do well in school, talk to them【C9】______a baby. If you bring a child into the world, we【C10】______the responsibility for feeding them, keeping them clean and keeping them safe. I think we now have enough scientific evidence to add something else to that list—and that is【C11】______learning from infancy on. Long before your baby is speaking, it is【C12】______information about language." In a series of studies on babies, Dr Fernald showed that there are big differences in how quickly children process words. Speedy processing is important【C13】______it frees up the brain to think about the next word—or the world【C14】______. Dr Fernald said: "You are building a mind that can conceptualize and【C15】______and think about the past and think about the future." She also showed that children who are【C16】______at understanding words tend to hear more words at home. In her studies, some【C17】______had as few as 600 words a day directly talked to them. To put this in【C18】______, the average adult speaks around 200 words a minute. Other children heard more than 12,000 words. Dr Fernald has also shown that children who can quickly process words at the age of two do better at school at the age of eight. Other research has shown that children who do well in【C19】______school are more likely to go onto higher education, get a good job, re-mam married and stay out of【C20】______.

Amtrak—the largest railway company in the U.S.—was experiencing a declining in ridership.【C1】______major concerns to Amtrak and its advertising agency DDB Needham, were the long-distance western routes【C2】______ridership had been declining【C3】______ At one time, trains were the only practical way to【C4】______the vast areas of the west. Trains were fast, very luxurious, and quite convenient【C5】______to other forms of transportation existing at the time. However, times change and the automobile became America's standard of convenience. Also, air travel had easily【C6】______itself as the fastest method of traveling great distances.【C7】______, the task for DDB Needham was to【C8】______consumers to consider other aspects of train travel in order to【C9】______their attitudes and increase the likelihood that trains would be considered【C10】______travel in the west. Two portions of the total market were targeted: anxious fliers—those concerned with【C11】______, and travel-lovers—those【C12】______themselves relaxed, casual, and interested in the travel experiences as part of【C13】______vacation. The agency then developed a campaign that focused on travel【C14】______such as freedom, relaxation, and enjoyment of the great western outdoors. It【C15】______experiences gained by using the trains and portrayed western train trips as wonderful adventures. Advertisements showed pictures of the beautiful scenery that【C16】______be enjoyed along some of the more famous western routes and emphasized the romantic names of some of these trains (Empire Builder, etc.). These ads were strategically placed among【C17】______oriented TV shows and programs involving nature and America in order to most【C18】______reach target audiences. Results were【C19】______The Empire Builder, which was focused on in one ad, had a fifteen percent【C20】______in profits on its Chicago to Seattle route.

[A] Leave them behind[B] Change the subject[C] Limit the time you spend with them[D] Don' t make their problems your problems[E] Don't pretend that their behavior is "OK".[F] Talk about solutions, not problems[G] Speak up for yourself Some people will have a rain cloud hanging over them, no matter what the weather is outside. Their negative attitude is toxic to your own moods, and you probably feel like there is little you can do about it. But that couldn't be farther from the truth. If you want to effectively deal with negative people and be a champion of positivity, then your best route is to take definite action through some of the steps below. 【R1】______ First, let' s get this out of the way. You can be more positive than a cartoon sponge, but even your enthusiasm has a chance of being afflicted by the constant negativity of a friend. In fact, negativity has been proven to damage your health physically, making you vulnerable to high levels of stress and even cardiac disease. There's no reason to get hurt because of someone else' s bad mood. Though this may be a little tricky depending on your situation, working to spend slightly less time around negative people will keep your own spirits from slipping as well. 【R2】______ This is an easy trap to fall into. Point out to the person that their constant negativity isn't a good thing. We don't want to do this because it's far easier to let someone sit in their woes, and we'd rather just stay out of it. But if you want the best for this person, avoid giving the false impression that their negativity is normal. 【R3】______ Though I consider empathy a gift, it can be a dangerous thing. When we hear the complaints of a friend or family member, we typically start to take on their burdens with them. This is a bad habit to get into, especially if this is a person who is almost exclusively negative. These types of people are prone to embellishing and altering a story in order to gain sympathy. Why else would they be sharing this with you? 【R4】______ When you suspect that a conversation is starting to take a turn for the negative, be a champion of positivity by changing the subject. Of course, you have to do this without ignoring what the other person said. Acknowledge their comment, but move the conversation forward before the pleasure gained from complaining takes hold of either of you. 【R5】______ Sometimes, changing the subject isn't an option if you want to deal with negative people, but that doesn't mean you can't still be positive. I know that when someone begins dumping complaints on me, I have a hard time knowing exactly what to say. The key is to measure your responses as solution-based. You can do this by asking questions like, "Well, how could this be resolved?" or, "How do you think they feel about it?" Use discernment to find an appropriate response that will help your friend manage their perspectives.

BSection III Writing/B

Directions:Writeanessaybasedonthechart.Inyourwriting,youshould1)describethechart,and2)giveyourcomments.Youshouldwriteabout150words.

BSection I Use of EnglishDirections: Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D./B

As a general rule, American men earn more than American women. This holds true across industries, across education levels, and across states. But, there"s at least one big【C1】______: part-time employees. In 2012, women who worked less than 40 hours a week generally out-earned men who spent the same【C2】______at their jobs. If they worked 35 hours a week, they earned about 11 percent more. If they worked 25 hours a week, they earned about 4 percent more. But once females hit that magic 40 hour【C3】______their relative pay declined dramatically. So why do women beat out men while working part-time and【C4】______out while working full-time? My guess is that much (【C5】______certainly not all) of the explanation【C6】______down to two reasons: marriage and children. Women, including highly educated【C7】______, tend to cut their hours once they have families and children, especially【C8】______their husband has a higher salary. Men, meanwhile, are more likely to keep working a【C9】______week And so part-time women, as a group, are somewhat more likely to have gone to college, and【C10】______less likely to have dropped out of high school, than part-time men, who may well be working shorter【C11】______for lack of better options. The problem for women is that working part-time early in their careers can cost them salary while working full-time later in their careers,【C12】______lost experience and perhaps some【C13】______opportunities for promotions. Motherhood might be the most【C14】______job in the world. But all too often, our economy still makes it【C15】______a career killer. So【C16】______part-timers, which other women out-earn men? The BLS includes a job-by-job breakdown of the wage【C17】______, and among the nearly 150【C18】______with good-enough data to【C19】______, it found just two where females were better paid: counselors and health technicians. That said, as men look more toward those sorts of traditionally pink-collar jobs for employment, one has to【C20】______how long that pay advantage will last.

Thankfully for lovers of coolness, air conditioning is becoming more efficient. In the past 30 years, more rigorous standards for air conditioners in developed countries have more than doubled the energy efficiency of new units. For decades, air conditioning has used the same compressor technology that runs fridges. But Coolerado, an American company, claims to have cut energy costs by 90%, using only water for the cooling procedure: its devices feature specially designed plastic plates that chill by evaporation. They discharge half the air, warm and wet, back outside and send the rest, cool and dry, inside. The machines can even be solar powered though their thirsty habits may not suit all hot places. Conventional air conditioning has to cool the air in order to rid it of moisture and that is the most expensive part of the process. An Israeli-founded firm called Advantix says its machines cut energy consumption by half, using "liquid drier" technology.

Directions:Writeanessaybasedonthefollowingchartonpeople'sperceptionofshoppingwebsites.Inyourwriting,youshould1)interpretthechart,and2)giveyourcomments.Youshouldwriteabout150wordsonANSWERSHEET2.(15points)

In this section, you are asked to write an essay based on the following information. Make comments and express your own opinion. You should write at least 150 words. 当人们回忆他们的大学生活时，大多数人都认为那是很有价值的一段经历。大学生活在每个人眼里有不同的价值。你的看法如何?

Median earnings for full-time US workers aged 18 to 34 have fallen nearly 10 percent since 2000, after adjusting for inflation, to below 1980s levels, according to The Wall Street Journal. This drop means young people, many of whom are also shouldering big student loan debt, have had a hard time saving money and building the good credit needed to secure a mortgage and buy a house elsewhere. The mobility of young workers has been a tremendous asset to the US economy, according to The Atlantic article. In previous decades, cities like New York and Los Angeles attracted 20-some-things with educational or professional opportunities, and then those 20-somethings would migrate to places where they could settle down with a family and buy a spacious house after a few years in the city. This geographic dispersal of highly-skilled workers meant that the gains of states with stronger economies could be spread to those with weaker ones.

It's often said that the mark of a civilised society is how it treats its most vulnerable citizens in times of austerity. And in the past week, Britain has proved itself quite not so. Last Thursday a United Nations inquiry into disability rights in the UK ruled that the government is failing in its duties in everything from education, work and housing to health, transport and social security. Presented with overwhelming evidence of a range of regressive policies and multibillion-pound cuts to disability services, it described the treatment of disabled people in this country as a " human catastrophe " . Less than 24 hours later, Luke Davey lost his appeal against his local council cutting his care package almost in half. Luke is quadriplegic, has cerebral palsy and is registered blind. But in this climate of cuts to disability services, after 23 years of 24/7 support, his care hours have been suddenly gutted. Without enough funding for full-time personal assistants, his mother, Jasmine, is forced to fill in the gaps: sitting in the bungalow to ensure he's not alone, and lifting her 14-stone son into a hoist. Jasmine, it's worth noting, is 75 and has cancer. Bit by bit, the abuse of disabled people in Britain is being normalised. This isn't simply the result of newspapers and politicians dehumanising the "scrounging" disabled. It's that the hardship being witnessed is now so common, so widespread, it's as if it's not worth comprehension. Resisting this becomes almost an act of defiance: to say that it's not normal for a self-proclaimed global leader of disability rights to have to be shamed publicly by the United Nations over its treatment of disabled citizens; that it's not economically necessary for one of the wealthiest nations on Earth to cut benefits and social care so deeply that disabled people are housebound, hungry, or suicidal. When the " most vulnerable citizens " line is used by well-meaning voices, there's a secret second sentence that's rarely uttered: disabled people, truth be told, do not need to be vulnerable. Contrary to the myth sold by years of austerity, to be afraid, desperate or isolated is not a normal state of affairs for people with disabilities. Vulnerability comes when politicians choose to pull the support disabled people need in order to live dignified, fulfilling, independent lives—knowing full well the misery it will cause.

BSection I Use of EnglishDirections: Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D./B