Alia Baker is a librarian in Iraq. Her library used to be a1place for all who loved books and liked to share knowledge. They discussed various matters all over the world. When the war was near, Alia was2that the fires of war would destroy the books, which are more3to her than mountains of gold. The books are in every language—new books, ancient books, even a book on the history of Iraq that is seven hundred years old.
She had asked the government for permission to move the books to a4place, but they refused. So Alia took matters into her own hands. 5, she brought books home every night,6her car late after work. Her friends came to help her when the war broke out. Anis who owned a restaurant agreed to hide some books. All through the7, Alia, Anis, his brothers and neighbours took the books from the library,8them over the seven-foot wall and9them in the restaurant. The books stayed hidden as the war10. Then nine days later, a fire burned the11to the ground.
One day, the bombing stopped and the12left. But the war was not over yet. Alia knew that if the books were to be safe, they must be13again while the city was14. So she hired a truck to bring all the books to the houses of friends in the suburbs (郊区). Now Alia waited for the war to end and15peace and a new library.
Nearly all of us have a bad habit, whether we know it or not. Some people say they want to get rid of（摆脱）it but don't know the proper ways. Here's some advice on how to get rid of bad habits.
Make a list. Write down why you want to stop a certain behaviour, how it's hurting you and how to get rid of it. This will help a lot. Look at that list regularly.
Join in other activities. It's wise of you to do something else when you want to stop your bad habits. If you get angry easily, for example, you can practise having a deep breath or going for a walk.
Give yourself a present. Before you take action against a bad habit, decide what you'll do to celebrate it if you reach your goal.
Keep off bad habits. If you are fat and want to lose weight keep junk food out of your house. If you are a heavy smoker with coffee, turn to tea and keep away from friends who like smoking.
Be patient. Bad habits develop over years, so you probably won't be able to get rid of them quickly. In fact, people often give up several times before being successful, so you should be patient.
Find support. Don't be afraid to ask for support from friends, family or other people who have the same bad habits as you. When you talk to others, they might be able to provide advice or encouragement that you usually wouldn't get from yourself.
When recalling my high school Gonzaga College High School, I am excited. It was founded in 1821, which was in the center part of D. C., within the shouting distance (距离) of the Capitol building.
Seeing my older brother experience Gonzaga a few years before me, I had an idea of how special this school was before my entering to school. Through him, I could see the pride and friendship among Gonzaga students.
My true love for Gonzaga, however, began in my freshman year. I remember during my freshman guidance (新生入学指导), the team spirit organization sat our class down on the playground and taught us all the game cheers. I remember feeling a sense of energy and pride among these students that I had never experienced from a high school before I mean, it was just a high school—much school pride could these kids really have? But it was not just a high school, and it only took a few football games for me to realize that I went to the most prideful school in the D.C.
I spent the rest of my first year meeting some of the coolest and most interesting people I have ever known. Some of the funniest, smartest and kindest guys I have ever met went to this school. No matter how athletic (擅长运动的) you were or how much money your parents had, you were just another Gonzaga kid. You were friends with everyone. If you went to Gonzaga, teacher or student, you were in on the joke.
When my freshman life came to an end, I began to understand what it meant to be part of Gonzaga students. Serving the poor right there on Campus at the McKenna center, I got a view on poor people that I will value for the rest of my life. Through football I learned how to develop better self control and built some of the greatest friendships. In the classroom, I had many laughs with friends and teachers alike. I also learned how to manage my time and gained a lot of information, but most importantly, I learned how to put the world and others before myself.
The snowy owl (雪鹗) is a white-colored owl with many unique characteristics. This bird bears a pure white appearance (only the male), with a rounded head, and black bill. While the male is actually a pure white individual, the female and young ones have a darker appearance with dusky spots. The female owl never attains complete whiteness in her lifetime. As young owls get older, they get whiter, losing their heavy stripes (条纹) and dark spots. This bird is between 18 to 20 inches long. Its Wingspan is 49 to 59 inches. It weighs between 3.5 to 6.5 pounds.
The snowy owl lives in the regions of Greenland, Iceland, Canada, and the northern parts of USA. Carolus Linnaeus was the first person to classify this bird. Apart from being the heaviest owl in North America, it is also the official bird of Quebec. It is known by other names such as "the Arctic Owl" or "the Great White Owl". The reason for this bird's adaptation to the cold temperatures of the Arctic Circle is its splendidly beautiful, white, and thick feathers. These feathers help it to survive the extreme cold and develop a perfect camouflage (伪装) in the "white" of its Arctic habitat.
The snowy owl is a very patient hunter, and it can sit in one place for hours. Gifted with great hearing and keen eyesight, it is known to be an efficient and clever hunter. It is not difficult for it to track down its prey, which might be barely visible under thick plants or snow cover. Before soaring off in pursuit, the bird waits patiently and identifies its potential prey. Once the prey comes within the proper range, it lays its attack with its sharp-hooked claws. It hunts both during the day and at night.
Foreign visitors to the UK might be disappointed when they learn that not everyone there speaks like Harry Potter and his friends. Usually, there's an assumption by many non-Brits that everyone in Britain speaks with what's known as a Received Pronunciation (RP, 标准发音) accent, also called "the Queen's English". However, while many people do talk this way, most Britons speak in their own regional accents.
Scouse, Glaswegian and Black Country – from Liverpool, Glasgow and the West Midlands – are just three of the countless non-RP accents that British people speak with. There are even differences in accents between towns or cities just 30 kilometers apart. What is even more disappointing is that not speaking in a RP accent may mean a British person is judged and even treated differently in their everyday life.
In a 2015 study by The University of South Wales, videos of people reading a passage in three different UK accents were shown to a second group of people. The group then rated how intelligent they thought the readers sounded. The lowest-rated accent was Brummie, native to people from Birmingham, a city whose accent is considered working class.
However, there is no need to be disappointed though you are not speaking in an RP accent. In fact, doing the opposite may even give you strength.
Kong Seong-jae, 25, is an internet celebrity from Seoul. After studying in the UK, he picked up several regional accents. He's now famous for his online videos, where he shows off the various accents he's learned. "British people usually get really excited when I use some of their local dialect words, and they become much friendlier. I think it makes a bit of bond between local people and foreigners to speak in their local accent," he said.
So if you're working on perfecting your British accent, try to speak like someone from Liverpool, Glasgow or Birmingham. You may not sound like Harry Potter, but you are likely to make more friends.
If anyone had told me three years ago that I would be spending most of my weekends camping, I would have laughed heartily. Campers, in my eyes, were people who enjoyed insect bites, ill-cooked meals, and uncomfortable sleeping bags. They had nothing in common with me.
The friends who introduced me to camping thought that it meant to be a pioneer. We slept in a tent, cooked over an open fire, and walked a long distance to take the shower and use the bathroom. This brief visit with Mother Nature cost me two days off from work, recovering from a bad case of sunburn and the doctor's bill for my son's food poisoning.
I was, nevertheless, talked into going on another fun-filled holiday in the wilderness. Instead, we had a pop-up camper with comfortable beds and an air conditioner. My nature-loving friends had remembered to bring all the necessities of life.
We have done a lot of it since. Recently, we bought a twenty-eight-foot travel trailer complete with a bathroom and a built-in TV set. There is a separate bedroom, a modern kitchen with a refrigerator. The trailer even has matching carpet and curtains.
It must be true that sooner or later, everyone finds his or her way back to nature. I recommend that you find your way in style.
A. This time there was no tent.
B. Things are going to be improved.
C. The trip they took me on was a rough one.
D. I was to learn a lot about camping since then, however.
E. I must say that I have certainly come to enjoy camping.
F. After the trip, my family became quite interested in camping.
G. There was no shade as the trees were no more than 3 feet tall.
She looks like any other schoolgirl, fresh-faced and full of life. Sarah Thomas is looking forward to the challenge of her new A-level course. But unlike her school friends, 16-year-old Sarah is not spending half-term (rest). Instead, she is earning ￡6,500 a day as model in New York.
Sarah (tell) that she could be Britain's new supermodel, earning a million dollars in the next year. Her father Peter, 44, wants her to give up school to model full-time. But Sarah, has taken part in shows along with top models, wants (prove) that she has brains as well as beauty. She is determined to carry on with her (educate).
She has turned down several (invitation) to star at shows in order to focus her studies. After school she plans to take a year off to model full-time before going to university to get a degree in engineering or architecture.
Sarah says, "My dad thinks I should take the offer now. But at the moment, school (come) first. I don't want to get too addicted to modeling. It is (certain) fun but the lifestyle is a little unreal. I don't want to have nothing else to fall back on when I can't model any more."
内容要点：提出一些健康生活的建议。
要求：
1）词数70左右。
2）作文的开头和结尾已经给出，不计入总词数。
3）可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Mike,
I was overcome with worry and concern when I heard your present situation. Therefore, I'm writing to offer you some suggestions of a healthy life, aiming to kick your bad habits which are harmful to your health. My suggestions are listed as follows.
……
I hope you can take my suggestions, build up your body and make steady progress with your study.
Yours,
Li Hua
