Have you got some paper, a pair of scissors and, above all, a desire to decorate your house? Then, we have the perfect holiday artwork for you: Make Star Wars snowflakes (雪花). Remembered as a cherished form of work in classrooms before the holidays, paper snowflakes have drawn many people's attention again.

The designer, Anthony Herrera, just recently released his 2013 collection. "The Star Wars snowflake designs began as just doing designs of characters that I and my daughter wanted to make three years ago," Herrera told us in an email. "The second year I introduced vehicles, and this year I decided to push further by designing battle scenes."

Sometimes, he feels a bit bored with his job. With each year, the designs have got more detailed and various, but the process of creating them remained the same: sketching (畫) figures on paper with a pencil until a symmetrical (對(duì)稱）pattern comes out, then scanning the designs and cut them with scissors. However, he says he has plenty of ideas for new flakes next year, so no two will ever be the same. Hopefully with Star Wars: Episode VII coming in 2015 he'll have even more work in the future.

Check out your favorite finished versions of Herrera’s flakes (from both 2013 and previous years) and download the pictures beneath them and then get down to creating your own work. A warning: Most designs aren't for the casual flake-maker, so patience you must have.

1.From the text, we know that Herrera ______.

A. can make snowflakes with his daughter's help

B. made more complicated designs before 2013

C. introduced paper vehicles in 2011

D. will make a great variety of detailed paper flakes

2.Herrera is fed up with the job sometimes because ______

A. he has to design detailed and different patterns

B. he has to follow the fixed process of paper cutting

C. he spends much time designing, scanning and cutting

D. he has few ideas for what the next designs will be like

3.By writing the last paragraph, the author tries to ______.

A. offer us more information about Herrera’s paper cutting

B. tell us how to download picture of snowflakes

C. instruct people to be a real creative artist

D. remind us of being patient with Herrera’s designs

閱讀下面材料，在空白處填入適當(dāng)?shù)膬?nèi)容（1個(gè)單詞）或括號(hào)內(nèi)單詞的正確形式。

“Equal pay for equal work” is a phrase by the American women who feel they are____1.___(fair) treated by society. They think it is not right for women to be paid less than men for the __2.__ amount of work. Some people say men have more duties than women. A married man has to earn money to support his family and make important decisions, __3._ it is right for them to be paid more. Some are even against married women _4.__(work)at all. When wives go out to work, they say, the home and children are given no attention _5.. If women are encouraged by equal pay to take up jobs, they will be able to do __6.___ they are best at doing,such as making a nice home and bringing _7._ children. Women who disagree say that they want to escape from the limited place which society wishes them to fill and have __8.freedom to choose between a job and home life __9._ a mixture of the two. As a matter of__10.__, women have the right not only to equal pay but also to equal chances.

My family moved from Taiwan to a small town in central Georgia, where my dad got a visa for his family and a job. I had just learned English, and from what little I could gather from my classmates, Santa Claus would come down one’s chimney and put toys in one’s stocking on Christmas Eve! What a great country, I thought. After I looked up “stocking” in my Chinese-English dictionary, I knew what I had to do.

On that fateful night, after everyone went to bed, I took my longest, cleanest knee sock and attached it to a nail already on the mantel(壁爐). Obviously, the previous owners of this house were no strangers to this Santa character.

I woke up before everyone else on Christmas Day and ran to the fireplace. To make a sob story short, I was hit with the reality of an empty sock and the biggest lie ever told. I burst into tears, quickly took down the sock, and stuffed it in the back of a drawer. Santa was dead.

Every December since then, the topic of Christmas memories would unavoidably come up, and I would amuse my friends with my poor-little-me story. I had to make it as funny as possible, or else I would cry.

How could I know that Santa was just late? Nine years ago, on Christmas Eve, an older man with a white beard and a red cap knocked on my front door. He said, “I’ve been looking for you for twenty-five years.” He handed me a bulging red stocking, winked, and left. On top of the stocking was a card. It read: “For Becky—I may have missed you in the second grade, but you’ve always lived in my heart. Santa.”

Through tear-blurred eyes, I recognized the handwriting of Jill, a friend I had met just two months before. I later discovered that the older man was her father. Jill had seen the hurt little girl underneath the thirty-something woman and decided to do something about it.

So now I believe that Santa is real. I don’t mean the twinkle-eyed character of children’s mythology or the creation of American holiday marketers. Those Santas annoy and sadden me. I believe in the Santa Claus that live inside good and thoughtful people. This Santa does not return to the North Pole after a crazy delivery but lives each day purposefully, really listens to friends, and then plans deliberate acts of kindness.

1.What does the underlined part “what I had to do” in Paragraph 1 refer to?

A. Waiting for Santa Claus.

B. Putting a stocking on the mantel.

C. Asking for gifts from her parents.

D. Looking up “stocking” in the dictionary

2.It can be inferred from the passage that the author’s parents ________.

A. didn’t love their child at all

B. didn’t know the previous owners of the house

C. didn’t know much about Christmas tradition

D. didn’t have enough money to buy the author Christmas presents

3.When the author told her friends about the story, she felt ________ in her heart.

A. proud B. amusing C. hate D. regret

4.The author of the passage is probably ________.

A. a teenager B. a primary school student

C. a middle-aged woman D. a native American

Man still has a lot to learn about the most powerful and complex part of his body — the brain.

It may be surprising to learn that it isn’t age that makes you lose your memory. The reason could be that you have a "lazy" memory, not an old one. Like your body your memory improves with exercise. Once given plenty of exercise, the brain keeps its power. Before discussing how to improve the memory, let’s look at how the brain works. There are two sides to the brain, the left and the right. The right side deals with the senses (what we see, hear, feel and smell). It's the creative and imaginative side. The left side is concerned with logic. It analyzes information and puts it in order.

Some recent research suggests that we remember everything that happens to us. The problem most of us has is recalling events. Most forgetting takes place immediately after learning. An hour after learning something new, more than 50% has been forgotten. After a month, 80% has been forgotten, and so on.

This shows revision is very important. If you revise new material you have learnt, you remember much more. So it's of vital importance to revise newly learned material often, and have frequent breaks. We best remember what we learn at the beginning of a learning period and at the point where we stop. After the break, revise what was learned before the break and then continue learning the new material. These breaks should happen every 20 or 45 minutes.

Other experiments have shown the brain needs time to "digest" what has been learned. The time necessary for this is 5 to 10 minutes. After the break, the memory will have absorbed what it has just learned, and more will be remembered. During this period it is important to exercise the right side of the brain, because the left side is used during the learning period. Therefore you should relax. Listening to music, breathing in fresh air, and looking at a picture are all ways of using the other side of the brain. So when you are studying alone, make a plan which shows when to have breaks and to revise newly learned material immediately before you begin studying again. If you do in this way, your memory will improve.

1.According to the text, you lose your memory by ________.

A. getting too old B. hardly using your brain

C. working too hard D. using your brain too much

2.To fight forgetting effectively, we're advised to ________.

A. go back to what was learned regularly

B. break down materials into small pieces

C. focus on both ends of a learning period

D. take breaks to give the brain a good rest

3. During the learning process the brain need breaks to ________.

A. use the right side of the brain

B. revise newly learnt materials

C. take in what has been learnt

D. relax the left side of the brain

4.Where is this text most probably taken from?

A. Science fictions. B. Students’ literature.

C. An advertisement. D. A science report.

短文改錯(cuò)

Dear schoolmates,

In order to get high school students to attaching importance to the environment and improve our sense to protect the environment, and China Daily is planning to hold an interestingly knowledge contest. A contest starts on October 14th and end on 31st.Remember, you can take the contest in China Daily newspaper, that is very popular among high school student. The answer sheet must cut from the newspaper and sent to China Daily after the deadline.

Please pay more attention to the related information of the contest and take an active part in them on time.

Students' Union

You may be out of your parents’________but never out of their mind wherever you are．

A． sight B． sign

C． sigh D． scene

2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil，which attracted the whole planet，________on the 12 th of June．

A． fell B． set

C． lay D． happened

Actually，it’s not the years in your life_______count，but the life in your years．

A． what B． which

C． that D． when

Maybe you don’t think animals have certain mental powers which human beings do not have．But the truth is that some of them have instincts，and besides this，I am sure they can feel certain things we humans cannot．A personal experience showed me this．

Some years ago，I had a dog named Howard．From the time when he was a puppy，he was timid，so we named him Howard，sounding like “coward”！He was especially afraid of thunderstorms．At the first flash of lightning or crash of thunder，he would run whining into his house and hide under a table．

I often went for a walk with Howard．Once，as we were walking along a road，it began to rain．I quickly ran to a bus stop for shelter．The bus stop had a roof supported by metal poles．Soon after I had got there，Howard caught my trousers in his teeth and tried to pull me away．At first I was puzzled and a little angry at his behavior．But I decided to humor him and walked away from the shelter into the rain and started to go home．

When I was about two hundred metres from the shelter，there came a flash of lightning and soon after，there was thunder which nearly deafened me．Howard stopped walking and began whining．Thinking he was afraid，I bent to pick him up．As I straightened up，I glanced at the bus shelter we had just left．I was shocked to see that two of the poles were bent and the roof was lying on the ground，broken．The shelter had been struck by the bolt of lightning！

1.The author named his dog Howard mainly because of_______．

A． his timid characteristic

B． one of the author’s friends Howard

C． his loud sound

D． his strange behaviors

2.The reason why the author was puzzled and angry with the dog was that_______．

A． Howard had a strange behavior

B． Howard should be afraid of the metal poles

C． Howard should know the approaching of the terrible lightning

D． Howard bit his trousers in his teeth

3.Which of the following is true according to the passage？

A． Dogs are cleverer and better than men．

B． Dogs are usually afraid of thunderstorms．

C． Some animals can feel certain things humans cannot．

D． Dogs are naturally born heroes．

4.What can be inferred about the bus shelter from the passage？

A． It was about 200 meters from the author’s home．

B． It was destroyed in a rainy day．

C． Its roof was supported by wood poles．

D． It could produce blinding flash of lightning．

More than one-third of adults in the United States are obese(肥胖)．In fact，over obesity has reached such proportions that one big-city mayor has gone about banning large-sized，sugary soft drinks and the First Lady has been on a campaign to control the dietary offerings in public schools．

Even many adults who do not fit the clinic definition of obesity are still overweight，and a large percentage are looking for the best ways to lose weight．

Reducing pounds largely comes down to the two-sided factors of diet and exercise．Not carrying out the first one enough，and not getting enough of the second one，ends up giving the individual a recipe for being overweight．

Advising someone to eat less and exercise more might be the easiest advice possible，but it’s also，partially，an oversimplification．Dieting has more to do with the types of food you eat than how much you eat．Reduce the amount of red meat in your diet．If you don’t want to eliminate red meat altogether，choose cuts of meat with less fat content．Limit your intake of salt and starches．If you’ve got to have potato chips alongside your sandwich at lunch，choose the baked potato chips that contain less fat than the deep-fried chips．You might find you’re really not sacrificing that much in terms of taste．

A diet rich in fruits，vegetables，egg whites，fish and nonfat dairy products will certainly aid in the mission of losing weight．Drink more water and less sugary drinks．If you have to have a soda，a diet soda is a better option，but seltzer is an even better choice than that．

It’s important—if not always easy—to make sure you get at least some physical activity each and every day．If your feet won’t allow for a regular jogging regimen，then make sure you take lots of walks．Next time you need to mail a letter，walk to the mailbox instead of driving．Try to work in a daily walk in your neighborhood．

1.You should________when you want to lose weight

A． try not to fit the clinic definition of obesity

B． diet as well as exercise enough

C． get little exercise every day

D． focus your attention on diet only

2.The First Lady has started a movement to________．

A． raise people’s awareness of healthy diet

B． control the public school dietary supplying

C． ban the sugary soft drinks

D． realize the importance of dieting

3.What can we learn from the fourth paragraph？

A． We must keep far away from fat and ignore our taste．

B． The simplest and best way to lose weight is to eat and exercise more．

C． We should remove the red meat in our diet completely to reduce weight．

D． When it comes to diet，no one needs to starve themselves in order to lose weight．

4.The last paragraph is mainly about________．

A． walk B． diet

C． exercise D． jog