There are many great movie directors of all time and the following are five of those who have largely impressed audience with their body of work.

  As a member of the New Hollywood gang, Francis Coppola is best remembered for The God Father series. His decision to cast Marlon Brando in the lead also met with fierce opposition from the studio bosses. Good sense became popular, and The God Father went on to become one of the most memorable movies ever. Critics may point out that he has become less creative after his seventies, but try as one might, no one can possibly take the place of this great director’s work.

  Stanley Kubrick’s movies focus on the themes like sci-fi, horror, dark humor and war. He used symbolism in most of his movies, giving us some wonderful screen visuals, as shown in 2001: A Space Odyssey. His actors in Hollywood complained about the endless number of retakes, but they appreciated the performance he milked out of them. People argue about films like Lolita, A Clockwork Orange and Paths of Glory, but these are now seen as classics.

Steven Spielberg is a great success at the box office, and he is one of the world’s most popular filmmakers today. As the creator of classics like Schindler’s List, Jurassic Park, ET, Indiana Jones series, Jaws, Saving Private Ryan, no one can win his hold over the audience. His critics accuse him of being emotional and over the top, but the fact remains that his movies attract the audience, and set the cash registers ringing.

Woody Allen is a director who directs movies full of crime and hate. This comic genius has given us Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters and Midnight in Paris, which have also become classical. His movies constantly include characters who arouse the audience’s sympathy and laughter at the same time, as they set out on a journey of self-discovery. Hollywood star power has never fazed Allen. Thankfully, awards and honors do not interest him, which results in creativity that is original.

1.What do the directors mentioned in the passage have in common_______?

A. They are interested in awards for their works.         

B. They are members of the New Hollywood gang.

C. They have created a lot of movies taken as classics.    

D. They focus their themes on negative side of the society.

2.The movie Indiana Jones series is directed by ______.

A. Francis Coppola                     B. Woody Allen        

C. Stanley Kubrick                    D. Steven Spielberg

3.Stanley Kubrick’s works include the following except ______.

A. Midnight in Paris                   B. 2001: A Space Odyssey    

C. A Clockwork Orange               D. Paths of Glory

4.It is implied in the underlined sentence Steven Spielberg ______.

A. was successful in amusing the audience     

B. succeeded in making a great box office 

C. became much better at creating classics      

D. had set a cash register working for himself

5.What will be discussed in the paragraph that follows this passage________?

A. Their contribution to the society            

B. The difference between the directors

C. Another famous movie directors            

D. More great movies from the directors

Many people think of the brain as a mystery. They don't know much about intelligence and how it works. When they do think about what intelligence is, many people believe that a person is born smart, average, or dumb — and stays that way in the whole life. But new research shows that the brain is more like a muscle — it changes and gets stronger when you use it. And scientists have been able to show just how the brain grows and gets stronger when you learn.

Everyone knows that when you lift weights, your muscles get bigger and you get stronger. A person who can't lift 20 pounds when he/she starts exercising can get strong enough to lift 100 pounds after working out for a long time. That's because the muscles become larger and stronger with exercise. And when you stop exercising, the muscles shrink and you get weaker. That's why people say “Use it or lose it！”

But most people don't know that when they practice and learn new things, parts of their brain change and get larger a lot like muscles do when they exercise. Inside the cortex (皮层) of the brain are billions of tiny nerve cells, called neurons. The nerve cells have branches connecting them to other cells in a complicated network. Communication between these brain cells is what allows us to think and solve problems. When you learn new things, these tiny connections in the brain actually multiply and get stronger. The more you challenge your mind to learn, the more your brain cells grow. Then, things that you once found very hard or even impossible to do — like speaking a foreign language or doing algebra (代数) — seem to become easy after learning them for a period of time. The result is a stronger, smarter brain.

Scientists started thinking that the human brain could develop and change when they studied animals' brains. They found out that animals that lived in a challenging environment were more “perspicacious” — they were better at solving problems and learning new things.

1.According to the first paragraph，________.

A. the function of our brain is like that of the muscle

B. until now it's impossible to explain the brain's mystery

C. many people believe one's intelligence is naturally determined

D. one's brain grows stronger as the age increases

2.Training muscles is compared to ________.

A. using the brain

B. connecting things in your brain

C. lifting weights

D. doing research about the brain

3.What is Paragraph 3 mainly about_________?

The complex structure of the brain.

B. How changes in the muscles affect the brain.

C. The importance of the brain.

D. How the brain becomes stronger by learning new things.

4.What does the underlined word “perspicacious” in the last paragraph probably mean_________?

A. Strong.　　　　B. Smart. C. Popular. D. Active.

5.The paragraph that follows the passage will most probably talk about _______.

A. the differences between animals’ brains and humans’ brains

B. the relation between human brains and muscles

C. scientists’ findings about animals’ brains

D. how to make your brain smarter through self-development

Debate: Can stricter gun control laws decrease the rate of crimes involving guns?

Yes, because with fewer weapons, you get fewer crimes.

Take a look at the crime rates of countries like the United Kingdom. Their crime rate is very low, compared to ours here in the United States. Just by simply putting stricter laws in place on who can own them, it will greatly reduce the crimes involving guns.

  Posted by: 5h4yGlory

Past Practice

There was an assault weapon(攻击性武器) ban back in 1994 under Bill Clinton. Shootings and crime did not go down for the 10 years when this law was in effect. Criminals do not follow rules. The law only affects those who try to obey the law to arm them to protect themselves.

Posted by: jb1988

Wake up, you Americans!

It's hardly surprising that America has one of the highest gun related murder rates of all countries! And of course guns don't kill people, but the more people own guns, the easier it is to get access to one, the higher the chance of people using it to kill somebody is!

In Germany, we have really strict gun laws and only a few people own guns, and obviously we don't need them. There's no reason that a normal citizen would need a gun! Guns are made for one reason only: killing.

Posted by: cstephie13

More gun control laws, fewer shootings

On the same day as the Sandy Hook tragedy, a man in China entered a primary school with a knife and injured 22 students on December, 14. However, nobody was killed. Compare that to the 26 students and teachers killed at Sandy Hook in Connecticut with a powerful gun. We must learn something from this tragedy.

Posted by: Jasonx986

Gun violence goes up with more gun control

Criminals will take advantage of the situation. They will do whatever they want and take whatever they want and kill whoever gets in their way. They will get guns illegally. Crime rates go up as a result of more gun control, because criminals know you don't have one, and they will kill you as they like. There is no point in banning guns!

Posted by: eebnflow

1.According to the first post, in the United Kingdom ___________.

A. the crime rate is higher than America's    

B. the crime rate is rising sharply

C. there is no gun control laws                 

D. buying guns is very hard

2.We can infer that jb1988___________.

A. is against gun control laws             

B. was working under Bill Clinton 

C. is in favor of gun control laws         

D. has a gun

3.Which of the following does cstephie13 probably agree with_________?

A. The more people own guns, the more people will be killed by them.

B. The USA has one of the highest murder rates in the world.

C. People need guns to protect themselves in time of danger.

D. Guns are made to protect rather than kill.

4.What do we know about the Sandy Hook tragedy___________?

A. 22 students and teachers were killed by a powerful gun.

B. 22 students were injured without any deaths.

C. The tragedy took place on December 14 in Connecticut.

D. 26 primary students were killed by a knife.

5.Which of the following thinks that guns should not be controlled___________?

A.  Jasonx986       B. eebnflow            C. 5h4yGlory            D. cstephie13

There is an old saying about volunteer work that goes like this: "No one can do everything, but everyone can do something."

Today, many people volunteer their time and energy to help others. There are a lot of ways to meet other people's needs, and it seems there is a volunteer group for everything. Some provide education, while others offer adventure. Many do both. For example, some volunteers provide emergency help after a catastrophic event or disaster. Others are happy to get dirty while repairing homes or planting trees or flowers in poor neighborhoods. Young people see suffering and loneliness around them and find ways to help. And history lovers help archeologists search for ancient objects to help deepen knowledge of the past.

The volunteers also work in many areas around the world, including Haiti. More than two years have passed since a seven point zero earthquake shook the nation. The exact number of people who died may never be known. Estimates gave numbers from ninety five thousand to more than three hundred thousand.

Thousands of survivors of the Haitian earthquake still live in temporary shelters. Last year, former American President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn joined five hundred Habitat volunteers in the town of Leogane to build houses.

Organizations do not have to be large to get volunteers. An activist group in Dharamsala, India is a good example. Jodie Underhill from England arrived in northern India several years ago. She planned to volunteer for an environmental project. She found a lot to do there. She could hardly believe how much garbage was ruining some of the area's most beautiful sights. Miss Underhill learned about _______________________ while taking part in other volunteer projects. But soon enough she formed her own group, Mountain Cleaners. Miss Underhill says the work is very hard and the Indian media started calling her "Garbage Girl." But she says she was pleased with the name.

1.What does the passage mainly talk about? (no more than 8 words)

_____________________________________________________________

2.What does the underlined word “both” (Line 3, paragraph 2) probably refer to? (no more than 3 words)

_____________________________________________________________

3.What did former American President Jimmy Carter do as a volunteer? (no more than 8 words)

_____________________________________________________________

4.Fill in the blank in paragraph 4 with proper words. (no more than 5 words)

Miss Underhill learned about __________________ while taking part in other volunteer projects.

5.What kind of volunteer jobs do you want to join? And why? (no more than 20 words)

_____________________________________________________________

最近你校就“中学生课堂注意力”在学生中进行了调查，下面的表格为你校的调查结果（表中数据为学生人数百分比）。请你向某英文报纸投稿，根据所提供的信息介绍调查结果并根据提示给出改善建议。

注意：字数：150左右；其它建议至少两点；首句已给，不计入总词数。

Our school has made a survey about how long middle school students can fix their attention in class during each period.__________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

--- Would you mind passing me my glasses? I can’t make out the words in the letter. --- _________.

A. Yes, please. B. No, never mind.

C. With pleasure. D. That’s OK.

The girl was at ___ loss when ____ word came that she had been disqualified from the speech competition.

A. a;\ B. a; the C. the; the D. \;\

According to a recent study, women are _____ to suffer from stomach cancer as men.

A. twice more likely B. twice as likely

C. more likely twice D. as twice likely

---What do you think of her new book? --- There is nothing special about it. I mean it is just__________.

A. average B. usual

C. normal D. strange

Mandy _________ adoption since her son’s death, but her husband didn’t agree with her.

A. has considered B. has been considering

C. is going to consider D. had considered