On a hill 600 feet above the surrounding land, we watch the lines of rain move across the scene, the moon rise over the hills, and the stars appear in the sky. The views invite a long look from a comfortable chair in front of the wooden house.

   Every window in our wooden house has a view, and the forest and lakes seldom look the same as the hour before. Each look reminds us where we are.

   There is space for our three boys to play outside, to shoot arrows, collect tree seeds, build earth houses and climb trees.

   Our kids have learned the names of the trees and with the names have come familiarity and appreciation. As they tell all who show even a passing interest, maple（枫树）makes the best fighting sticks and white pines are the best climbing trees.

   The air is clean and fresh. The water from the well has a pleasant taste, and it is perhaps the healthiest water our kids will ever drink. Though they have one glass a day of juice and the rest is water, they never say anything against that.

   The seasons change just outside the door. We watch the maples turn every shade of yellow and red in the fall and note the poplars’（杨树）putting out the first green leaves of spring. The rainbow smelt fills the local stream as the ice gradually disappears, and the wood frogs start to sing in pools after being frozen for the winter. A family of birds rules our skies and flies over the lake.

root 1 /ru:t/ n [C]

①►PLANT◄ the part of a plant or tree that grows under the ground and gets water form the soil: Be careful not to damage the roots when repotting. | tree roots —see picture at germinate

②►CAUSE OF A PROBLEM◄ the main cause of a problem: Money is the root of all evil. | be/lie at the root of (=be the cause of a problem) Often allergies are at the root of a lot of the problems. | get to the root of (=find out the cause of a problem) | root cause (=the main reason for a problem)

③►OF A CUSTOM/TRADITION◄ the origins of a custom or tradition that has continued for a long time: has its roots in Jazz has its roots in the folk songs of the southern states of the US.

④►OF AN IDEA/BELIEF◄ the main part of an idea or belief which all the other parts come from: be/lie at the root of Foucault is challenging|the very root of 20th century liberalism.

⑤►FAMILY CONNECTION◄ sb’s roots: your connection with a place because you were born there, or your family used to live there: Naita has come to Ghana in search of her roots.

⑥►put down roots: if you put down roots somewhere, you start to feel that this place is your home and to have relationships with the people there

⑦►TOOTH/HAIR ETC◄ the part of a tooth, hair etc that fixes it to the rest of your body

⑧► take root a) if an idea takes root, people begin to accept or believe it: The concepts of democracy and free trade are finally beginning to take root. b) if a plant takes root, it starts to grow where you have planted it

⑨►have a (good) root round( informal, especially BrE )to search for something by moving other things around

⑩►root and branch: if you destroy something root and branch, you get rid of it completely and permanently because it is bad

⑪►LANGUAGE◄ technical the basic part of a word which shows its main meaning, to which other parts can be added: The suffix ‘ness’ can be added to the root ‘cold’ to form the word ‘coldness’. —compare stem1 (4)

⑫►MATHEMATICS◄ technical a number that when multiplied by itself a certain number of times, equals the number that you have: 2 is the fourth root of 16.

—see also cube root, square root, grass roots

root 2 v

①►SEARCH◄ [I always + adv/prep] to search for something by moving things around: [+ through/in/ around] “Hang on a second,” said Leila, rooting through her handbag for a pen. | [+ for] pigs rooting for food

② ►PLANT◄ a) [I] to grow roots: New shrubs will root easily in summer. b) [T usually passive] to fix a plant firmly by its roots: The bush was too firmly rooted in the hard earth to dig up easily. | root itself Clumps of thyme had rooted themselves between the rocks. —see also deeply rooted (deeply (5))

③►be rooted in: to have developed from something and be strongly influenced by it: policies that are rooted in Marxist economic theory

④►be rooted to the spot: to be so shocked, surprised, or frightened that you cannot move

⑤►root for sb phr v [T] informal a) to give support and encouragement to someone in a competition, test or difficult situation, because you want them to succeed: Good luck – we’ll all be rooting for you! b) especially AmE to support a sports team or player by shouting and cheering: We’ll all be rooting for the Dallas Cowboys in the Superbowl.

⑥►root sth ↔ out phr v [T] a) to find out where a particular kind of problem exists and get rid of it: Racism cannot be rooted out without strong government action. b) informal to find something by searching for it: I’ll try and root out something suitable for you to wear.

⑦►root sth ↔ up phr v [T] to dig or pull a plant up with its roots

（5-year-old Danny Nickerson, of Foxborough, Massachusetts, has a brain tumor(肿瘤), and doctors have told his family that he may not have many more months to live. His family is therefore determined to ensure that his upcoming birthday is as special as it possibly can be.

Earlier this month, his mom Carley said on Facebook that he loves receiving mail and asked if friends would be willing to send a card to him for his sixth birthday.

Not only are friends sending the boy cards and birthday gifts, but also strangers all around the world are doing their part to make Danny Nickerson’s special day brighter. Over the last few weeks, hundreds of cards and packages have poured in from all across the country. They have received more than 340 cards so far. “We are so shocked,” Carley wrote. “We are so lucky and blessed to have all of you on this journey with us! Thank you so much for all the love, support and prayers.”

On Sunday, The Sun Chronicle reported that local high schoolers made birthday cards and held a car wash fundraiser for Nickerson. People all across the globe have been joining forces as well to make Nickerson’s birthday wish come true. Many have promised to send cards, while others are planning on sending special gifts to the boy.

Despite their pain and worry, Nickerson’s mom says they’re focusing on the positive. “Every day is blessing to us,” she said.

If you’d like to send Danny a card, here‘s the address the family has provided: Danny Nickerson

PO Box 212

Foxborough, MA 02035

To find out more about Nickerson and how you can help, visit his family’s fundraising page on GoFundMe. 

B

   When thinking about quitting (停止) smoking...

   List all the reasons why you want to quit. Every night before going to bed, repeat one of the reasons 10 times.

   Decide positively that you want to quit. Try to avoid negative thoughts about how difficult it might be. Develop strong personal reasons as well as your health and responsibility to others. For example, think of all the time you waste taking cigarette breaks, rushing out to buy a pack, hunting a light, etc. Set a date for quitting--perhaps a special day like your birthday, a holiday. If you smoke heavily at work, quit during your vacation. Make the date holy seriously, and don't let anything change it. Begin to condition yourself physically; start a modest (适当的) exercise; drink more water; get plenty of rest.

   Immediately after quitting...

   The first few days after you quit, spend as much free time as possible in places where smoking is prohibited, e.g. libraries, museums, theatres, department stores, etc.

   Drink large quantities of water and fruit juice. Try to avoid wine, coffee, and other drinks which remind you of cigarette smoking. Strike up a conversation with someone instead of a match (火柴) for a cigarette.

   If you miss the feeling of having a cigarette in your hand, play with something else —— a pencil, a pen, a ruler. If you miss having something in your mouth, try a fake (仿制的) cigarette.

1、 目前汽车带来的空气污染和交通堵塞等问题；

2、 骑自行车的益处，如节能环保、有利健康等。

参考词汇：低碳生活(low-carbon life)   节能(energy saving)

注意：1、词数：120词左右；

      2、演讲稿开头已给出，不计入总词数。

Good morning, everyone,

I am Li Hua from Xingguang Middle School. The topic of my speech is “Let’s ride bicycles”.

1.交通：自己走路或骑自行车上学，建议父母亲不开车而骑自行车上班；

2.节约：节约用水用电；

3.回收利用；将用过的课本留给低年级学生；

4.请自拟一条类似上文的低碳生活方式。

Once upon a time all the spirits set about building two palaces: a palace of truth, and a palace of lies. Every time a child told the truth, a brick was   (1)  for the palace of truth. The spirits of truth would then take it and   (2)   it to the growing walls.

In just the same way was the palace of lies   (3)  . Each brick was created   (4)   a child told a lie. Both  (5)   were impressive （令人印象深刻） and each group of   (6)   worked hard to try to   (7)   that their own palace was the   (8)  . So, the lying spirits, who were much more tricky （狡猾的） and   (9)  , sent a group of spirits to the world to get children to tell more and more   (10)  . These spirits were   (11)  , and started getting many more bricks. As a result, their palace became   (12)   and more impressive.

But one day, something   (13)   happened in the palace of lies. One of the   (14)   turned into a paper box. A little while later another brick turned into glass, and broke into pieces. And so, little by little, it became clear that whenever a lie was   (15)  , the brick that it had created   (16)   its from, and finally disappeared. In this way, the palace of lies became weaker and weaker, and in the end it   (17)   fell to pieces.

At this, everyone, including the lying spirits,   (18)   that you can’t use lies for   (19)  . They are never what they   (20)   to be. So, you never know what they will turn into.

Ask beautiful American singer Beyonce Knowles what she wants people to hear when they listen to her songs and the answer is a simple one.  "My range," she says. "I want them to hear all of the musical influences from hip-hop (street dancing music) to rock to jazz. I want them to hear the talent. I know that fans love me as a pop star. Now I want them to understand me as an artist. "

    It is this quality that sets the 22-year-old apart from the likes of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, who have the looks but not the same level of talent. And now the music industry says the same thing:  Knowles leads the field at the Grammy Awards with six nominations(提名), including ones for record of the year and the best R&B song.

    She started her music career as the founding member and chief songwriter of Destiny's Child. Since appearing onto the stage in 1997, the group has become one of the most successful female acts of all time, selling over 33 million records worldwide. Although 2003 has seen the release of her first sole album, Dangerously in Love, Knowles is not about to leave her band-mates. "I love Destiny's Child and I'm not trying to get away from it," she said. "I just wanted to explore a different style and show how I've developed as a musician." She took an active role in recording the album, from writing the material to mixing the final songs. And her family have played a big part in her success and she thanks her father very much. "My father stopped working to become my full-time manager. We also had to downsize our house to an apartment", she said.

    Knowles has done her own personal "downsizing" too—she has given up lots of food and runs six miles a day so she can fit into the famous hot pants she wears on stage.

Winter Vinecki began running at age five, but got serious in 2009 after her father died of cancer — that's when she decided to honor his memory by running a marathon on every continent (大洲) before her 15th birthday.

Scope: Team Winter is an organization you founded to raise money for cancer research. How did it get started?

Winter: At first, Team Winter was formed to fight childhood obesity (肥胖). When I was 8, I ran a race and raised $1,100 for that cause. But less than a year later, my dad got cancer. I knew I had to do something to help. When I started, my goal was to raise $10,000. I've raised well past that — almost $500,000.

Scope: What goes through your mind when you run?

Winter: When I'm having a hard time during a race, I think about my dad. If he could deal with the pain of cancer, I can deal with any type of pain. He was a very friendly person. He was always smiling and very happy even when he had cancer.

Scope: Is your age ever an obstacle (障碍) in your races?

Winter: I've been turned down by race directors who won't let anyone younger than 16 or 18 compete. But Diana Nyad, the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage, told me, “Never let them tell you it can't be done.” From then on I knew my age wasn't the problem.

Scope: You've probably inspired lots of people too.

Winter: I've heard about kids doing projects like me. Once in a restaurant, a boy came up to my mom and me and told us his dad had cancer too. Now he's competing (竞争) in running for his dad. Hearing stories like that helps keep me going.

假设你的名字叫柳红，是一家工厂的秘书。今年3月12日，你在合肥日报上看到一则招聘广告，某合资企业招聘英语秘书。请根据下列提示用英语写一封求职信。

出生日期：1990年3月   受教育情况：2012年毕业于安徽大学外语系

外语水平：具有较高的英语、法语书写的能力，2005年曾获得安徽省英语大赛第二名，能与外宾自由交谈

爱好：音乐、旅游     联系地址：合肥市繁华大道3号    联系电话：63843111

注意： 信中应包含所给的全部要点，字数120左右