白棱镜-

There was once a town in the heart of America where all life seemed to live in harmony with its

surroundings.

The

town

lay

in

the

midst

of

a

checkerboard

of

prosperous

farms, with

fields

of

grain and hillsides of orchards where, in spring, white clouds of bloom drifted above the green

fields.

In

autumn,

oak

and

maple

and

birch

set

up

a

blaze

of

colour

that

flamed

and

flickered

across a backdrop of pines. Then foxes barked in the hills and deer silently crossed the fields, half

hidden in the mists of the autumn mornings.

Along the roads, laurel, viburnum and alder, great ferns and wild flowers, delighted the traveller's

eye

through

much

of

the

year.

Even

in

winter

the

roadsides

were

places

of

beauty,

where

countless

birds

came

to

feed

on

the

berries

and

on

the

seed

heads

of

the

dried

weeds

rising

above the snow. The countryside was, in fact, famous for the abundance and variety of its bird

life, and when the flood of migrants was pouring through in spring and autumn people travelled

from great distances to observe them. Others came to fish the streams, which flowed clear and

cold

out

of

the

hills

and

contained

shady

pools

where trout

lay.

So

it

had

been from

the

days

many years ago when the first settlers raised their houses, sank their wells and built their barns.

Then a strange blight crept over the area and everything began to change. Some evil spell had

settled on the community: mysterious maladies swept the flocks of chickens; the cattle and sheep

sickened and died. Everywhere was a shadow of death. The farmers spoke of much illness among

their

families.

In

the

town

the

doctors

had

become

more

and

more

puzzled

by

new

kinds

of

sickness appearing among their patients. There had been several sudden and unexplained deaths

not only among adults but even among children, who would be stricken suddenly while at play

and die within a few hours.

There was a strange stillness. The birds, for example

—

where had they gone Many people spoke

of

them,

puzzled

and

disturbed. The

feeding

stations

in

the

backyards

were

deserted. The

few

birds seen anywhere were moribund; they trembled violently and could not fly. It was a spring

without

voices.

On

the

mornings

that

had

once

throbbed

with

the

dawn

chorus

of

robins,

catbirds, doves, jays, wrens, and scores of other bird voices there was now no sound; only silence

lay over the fields and woods and marsh.

On the farms the hens brooded, but no chicks were hatched. The farmers complained that they

were unable to raise any pigs

—

the litters were small and the young survived only a few days.

The apple trees were coming into bloom but no bees droned among the blossoms, so there was

no pollination and there would be no fruit.

The

roadsides,

once

so

attractive,

were

now

lined

with

browned

and

withered

vegetation

as

though swept by fire. These too, were silent, deserted by all living things. Even the streams were

now lifeless. Anglers no longer visited them, for all the fish had died.

In the gutters under the eaves and between the shingles of the roofs, white granular powder still

showed a few patches; some weeks before it had fallen like snow upon the roofs and the lawns,

the fields and streams.

No witchcraft, no enemy action had silenced the rebirth of new life in this stricken world. The

people had done it themselves.

This town does not actually exist, but it might easily have a thousand counterparts in America or

elsewhere

in

the

world.

I

know

of

no

community

that

has

experienced

all

the

misfortunes

I

describe.

Yet

every

one

of

these

disasters

has

actually

happened

somewhere,

and

many

real

communities have already suffered a substantial number of them. A grim spectre has crept upon

us

almost

unnoticed,

and

this

imagined

tragedy

may

easily

become

a

stark

reality

we

all

shall

know.

What

has

already

silenced

the

voices

of

spring

in

countless

towns

in

America?

This

book

is

an

attempt to explain.

Form Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

高中

/

大学组题型解析与赛前准备

2014-12-18

连云港组委会

希望之星英语大赛连云港赛区

201 5

年中央电视台希望之星英语风采大赛

【高中

/

大学组题型解析】

A

：

Hey

！

This is me.

（自我介绍）

个性化自我介绍不得超过

90

秒，出声计时开始。参赛选手切记：不得在舞台上

透露个人真实姓名、 所在学校、指导老师、家庭住址等明显个人特性信息。温

馨提示：出声计时开始，比赛现 场不提供电源及任何辅助乐器或道具，可自行

携带。也不提供任何播放设备及电脑投影， 选手如有需要可以自备。

One Theme to select!

Sample Topics

activity plays an important part in your life?

is your main personal goal?

do you like very much?

do you hate or dislike?

special skills do you have?

is your daily life?

is your hobby or interest in your spare time?

distinguishes you from other people in class?

B:

即兴问答

想展现你清晰的思路和敏捷的答辩能力吗？想证明和发挥你最佳潜力和个人魅

力吗？没错 ，你就是我们在寻找的睿智之星！不过，友情提醒，在这个环节，

没点真功夫可别想蒙住 火眼金睛的评委老师啊！

考点一：时间只有短短

90

秒，其中包含了

30

秒 的思考时间；

考点二：每人一题，读题后计时开始。

这些都是小菜一碟？你太牛了，来吧，让我们看看你有多棒！

高中、大学组

Topics:

Education

SNS (social networking site)

Career choice

Gap between the rich and the poor

Charity

Aging problem

Equality between genders

Tourism

Public safety

Housing

Media (TV, AD, etc…)

Culture (i.e. Peking Opera)

…

Types of Q

’

s

Your opinion:

Micro-blogging has become a most popular trend among young people

for daily communication. Yet some people criticize that it may intrude

privacy because it makes a huge amount of personal information too

easily accessible to the general public. What do you think of this?

政府法

律

网站措施

个人良心

Do you think we should “take time to smell the roses”?

身体健康

工作高

效

Advantages & Disadvantages

What are the advantages & disadvantages of Welfare Lottery?

福利事业

贫困地区教育

经济发展

不劳而获心理

Description:

Name the worst movie or TV program you’ve ever seen

, and explain why

you dislike it.

非诚勿扰

去出名的

宣传拜金主义

污染恋爱

Why Q’s

Should the custom of tipping be encouraged? Why or why not?

有工资作

为回报不需要

不给导致不同样的服务

增加了消费者的负担

形成不好的社

会风气

…

【提醒：大赛正式比赛题库将于本 周末发布！请及时关注微信信息！】

举报

高中

/

大学组初赛即兴问答题库与题型

2014-12-24

江苏组委会

希望之星英语大赛连云港赛区

201 5

年中央电视台希望之星英语风采大赛连云港赛区