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Task 1
“The movie American Sniper is on，” I said to my husband as we settled into bed.
We decided to watch， figuring it would take our minds off my husbands situation at work. He had been working with the same organization for close to twentythree years， and the management， he suspected， was preparing to let him go. The signs were pretty clear and I felt his pain.
I wondered if American Sniper was the wrong movie to watch and considered changing the channel. Maybe something lighter was in order？ A family comedy with laughter would have been more uplifting for my husband.
“It wouldnt bother me so much if I just felt appreciated，” he said.
We turned the volume down as my son was in the next room studying for the PSATs.
“You know this movie is based on a true story，” I said， half thinking about my husbands situation， half watching the movie.
“Yes，” he replied. “Its based on Chris Kyles book.”
I thought about all the young men who had lost their lives in Iraq. “Incredible. Some of those boys were only a couple of years older than James is right now，” I said， referring to our son.
As I watched the movie， I began to realize how negligible our problems really were. “You know， other couples are in bed tonight wondering if their sons are safe on a battlefield; and here we are with our son perfectly safe in the next room.”
Over the next hour， the mood in our bedroom changed from depression to gratitude. How blessed we were！ Our son was healthy and safe in the next room. We had a roof over our heads and could walk outside without worrying whether there would be bullets flying through the air！ As for my husbands job， he could do something else—something that he would have passion for.
Looking at the big picture， counting our blessings， and moving from “depression to reflection” have made all the difference.
1. Why did the author want to change the channel？
A. The movie was very boring. B. She preferred something lighter.
C. Her husband liked family comedies. D. She was considerate towards her husband.
2. What made the author feel much better？
A. The touching story in the movie. B. Thinking of unfortunate families.
C. Watching a funny family comedy. D. Her husbands words of comfort.
3. What does the underlined word “negligible” in paragraph 9 mean？
A. Unfortunate. B. Unforgettable.
C. Unimportant. D. Unbelievable. 4. What message does the author intend to convey？
A. Be grateful for what you have. B. Get some power from a movie.
C. You can always control your life. D. Stay strong in the face of difficulty.
Task 2
How to end a story
Writing the ending can be a source of anxiety for a lot of authors. 1 To help you effectively bring your novel to a close， this post will provide some tips that show that ending a book doesnt have to be hard.
Find your ending in the beginning.
While your story may contain several different threads and subplots， all books are going to have a central question thats raised by the opener. Who killed the boss？ Can this familys relationship be saved？ Your central question is the driving force of what will happen in the plot. 2
Completion goes handinhand with hope.
A great ending is one that gives the readers both a feeling of completion and hope. 3 So let them see something beautiful about the world that allows them to take a breath and step into the next adventure. Even your ending should leave your readers dying for more. They should close the book with a sigh.
4
In some ways， the final line of a story is even more important than the first one. Its the last impression youre going to make in your readers mind. Hone（磨煉） in on what kind of emotions youd like your readers to feel as they close the book.
Come full circle.
5 You need to take the truth your main character believed in at the beginning of the story and expose it as the lie that it is by the end. In your ending， the main character doesnt have to get what they want， but they do have to get what they need.
A. Last impressions matter.
B. You need to end where you began.
C. In general， though， you want to keep things brief.
D. So make sure you settle it by the time the book ends.
E. You have to assume the character has gone through risky times.
F. After all， you dont want to finish a great story with a weak ending.
G. Ensure your readers know this， and create something out of that uncertainty.
Task 3
Like many educators， Lorenz， a university professor， was tired of his students scrolling through their phones during class. The students were physically 1 ， but mentally many were miles away— and their class participation and grades 2 that.
So two years ago， Lorenz used his own money to pay for his students to download a new 3 called Flipd， which monitors the amount of 4 users spend on their phones. If students used their phones during his classes， Lorenz could see and 5 it， and it affected their final grades. Flipd was originally 6 as a parental control app. From one phone， a parent could 7 lock a childs phone. Not surprisingly， that got bad reviews from kids. But then a 8 use for the technology appeared. The app could be used to set goals for how much time a user wanted to spend off the phone， and then track the persons minutes away from the 9 .
Unlike other 10 to smartphone overuse that lock away phones or blame users for time spent online， Flipd 11 them for minutes spent offline. Success or failure announcements let them know if they have met their 12 . Using Flipd， professors can 13 students
“The movie American Sniper is on，” I said to my husband as we settled into bed.
We decided to watch， figuring it would take our minds off my husbands situation at work. He had been working with the same organization for close to twentythree years， and the management， he suspected， was preparing to let him go. The signs were pretty clear and I felt his pain.
I wondered if American Sniper was the wrong movie to watch and considered changing the channel. Maybe something lighter was in order？ A family comedy with laughter would have been more uplifting for my husband.
“It wouldnt bother me so much if I just felt appreciated，” he said.
We turned the volume down as my son was in the next room studying for the PSATs.
“You know this movie is based on a true story，” I said， half thinking about my husbands situation， half watching the movie.
“Yes，” he replied. “Its based on Chris Kyles book.”
I thought about all the young men who had lost their lives in Iraq. “Incredible. Some of those boys were only a couple of years older than James is right now，” I said， referring to our son.
As I watched the movie， I began to realize how negligible our problems really were. “You know， other couples are in bed tonight wondering if their sons are safe on a battlefield; and here we are with our son perfectly safe in the next room.”
Over the next hour， the mood in our bedroom changed from depression to gratitude. How blessed we were！ Our son was healthy and safe in the next room. We had a roof over our heads and could walk outside without worrying whether there would be bullets flying through the air！ As for my husbands job， he could do something else—something that he would have passion for.
Looking at the big picture， counting our blessings， and moving from “depression to reflection” have made all the difference.
1. Why did the author want to change the channel？
A. The movie was very boring. B. She preferred something lighter.
C. Her husband liked family comedies. D. She was considerate towards her husband.
2. What made the author feel much better？
A. The touching story in the movie. B. Thinking of unfortunate families.
C. Watching a funny family comedy. D. Her husbands words of comfort.
3. What does the underlined word “negligible” in paragraph 9 mean？
A. Unfortunate. B. Unforgettable.
C. Unimportant. D. Unbelievable. 4. What message does the author intend to convey？
A. Be grateful for what you have. B. Get some power from a movie.
C. You can always control your life. D. Stay strong in the face of difficulty.
Task 2
How to end a story
Writing the ending can be a source of anxiety for a lot of authors. 1 To help you effectively bring your novel to a close， this post will provide some tips that show that ending a book doesnt have to be hard.
Find your ending in the beginning.
While your story may contain several different threads and subplots， all books are going to have a central question thats raised by the opener. Who killed the boss？ Can this familys relationship be saved？ Your central question is the driving force of what will happen in the plot. 2
Completion goes handinhand with hope.
A great ending is one that gives the readers both a feeling of completion and hope. 3 So let them see something beautiful about the world that allows them to take a breath and step into the next adventure. Even your ending should leave your readers dying for more. They should close the book with a sigh.
4
In some ways， the final line of a story is even more important than the first one. Its the last impression youre going to make in your readers mind. Hone（磨煉） in on what kind of emotions youd like your readers to feel as they close the book.
Come full circle.
5 You need to take the truth your main character believed in at the beginning of the story and expose it as the lie that it is by the end. In your ending， the main character doesnt have to get what they want， but they do have to get what they need.
A. Last impressions matter.
B. You need to end where you began.
C. In general， though， you want to keep things brief.
D. So make sure you settle it by the time the book ends.
E. You have to assume the character has gone through risky times.
F. After all， you dont want to finish a great story with a weak ending.
G. Ensure your readers know this， and create something out of that uncertainty.
Task 3
Like many educators， Lorenz， a university professor， was tired of his students scrolling through their phones during class. The students were physically 1 ， but mentally many were miles away— and their class participation and grades 2 that.
So two years ago， Lorenz used his own money to pay for his students to download a new 3 called Flipd， which monitors the amount of 4 users spend on their phones. If students used their phones during his classes， Lorenz could see and 5 it， and it affected their final grades. Flipd was originally 6 as a parental control app. From one phone， a parent could 7 lock a childs phone. Not surprisingly， that got bad reviews from kids. But then a 8 use for the technology appeared. The app could be used to set goals for how much time a user wanted to spend off the phone， and then track the persons minutes away from the 9 .
Unlike other 10 to smartphone overuse that lock away phones or blame users for time spent online， Flipd 11 them for minutes spent offline. Success or failure announcements let them know if they have met their 12 . Using Flipd， professors can 13 students