【芝麻开门】
一篇文章中的闪光词就像是浩瀚夜空中的点点繁星，能使人眼前一亮，使你的文章可以从堆积如山的考卷中stand out。 好好练练，说不定真能把你的作文变得outstanding。
【活动教室】
Passage 1.
Conservation Essay
Robert Frost once said “nothing gold can stay”. Today those famous words are closely connected to our environment. Scientists and researchers are 1)the negative effects of modern technology on our environment and our lives. Cars, computers, refrigerators and 2)all other electric inventions consume natural resources. These resources are often 3), causing a harsh supply and demand crisis. Fuel prices will 4) to rise, which means that people will have to find a new mode of transportation. Coal will 5)out, therefore bringing an end to our main source of electricity. Rainforests will 6), causing a shortage of paper on which to write conservation essays. When viewed by short 7) effects, society does not consider environmental issues to be important—what is the big deal about cutting down a few trees? The long term results of such massive negligence are scary enough to make me think twice before tossing my 8) out the window. The bottom line is that people need to be more conservative of our natural resources before they are gone.
答案与解析：
Fish begins to stink at the head.
上梁不正下梁歪。 1.
答案〖〗uncovering解析〖〗本词意思是：揭露，揭示。在空格中我们还可以填入如studying，researching等单词，但这些词语多强调科研工作的进行，而本句强调的是研究之后慢慢展露的结果，所以用表示揭示的uncovering更妥当。填空的同时还要注意单词在句中的正确形式，该词为动词的现在进行时用法。2.
答案〖〗virtually解析〖〗本词意思是：实际上，事实上。and后面应该填入的是与前面意思并列的内容，在and前面出现的都是些具体的事物，空格后紧跟的却是与具体事物很难搭配在一起的“所有其它电器发明”。很明显空格前后已经行成了完整的并列关系，需要我们填入的内容应为修饰all other electric inventions的词或者是一个能够修饰整个句子的副词。根据句意，我们将表程度的副词virtually作为最佳答案。3.
答案〖〗unrenewable解析〖〗本词意思是：不可更新的，无法回收利用的，无法再用的。该词是用以修饰resources的一个形容词，强调资源的珍贵和人们应珍视资源的必要性。4.
First come, first served.
先来先招待。答案〖〗continue解析〖〗本词意思是：持续，继续。根据后半句的提示可推断出燃料价格会持续增长，因此用表示连续不断的continue。比较continue, last, endure, persist这四个同义词的用法：continue指“持续而无终止”，通常强调“不间断”，如，continue working 持续工作。last 指“持久”，“延续”，如：The rain will not last long. 这雨不会持续很久。endure 指“持续”，“持久”，如：Her fame will endure for ever. 她将名垂千古。persist 指“持续存在下去“，如：The snow is likely to persist in most areas.可能在大部分地区还有雪。5.
答案〖〗run解析〖〗根据后半句的提示，我们可以推断这里要表达的意思是煤耗尽。空格处缺少一个动词，一个能够和out搭配表示耗尽的动词。run out 指“用光”，“耗尽”，如：Though they are running out of food and drink, the men are cheerful and confident that they will get out soon.他们虽然已经水尽粮绝，但情绪都很好，并且深信他们很快就会出来的。6.
答案〖〗vanish解析〖〗本词意思是：灭绝，消失。和前句的动词形成并列关系，只不过这里需要的是一个单词，不是词组。vanish多指“突然消失”“从存在中消失”，如：vanish into nothing化为乌有。7.
答案〖〗term解析〖〗这个空格是考查文章上下文联系的题目。在下一句中有一个相对应的词组long term，与之对应的short后应为term。这部分的正确翻译是：in the short term从眼前的观点看；in the long term从长远的观点看。8.
答案〖〗litter解析〖〗本词意思是：垃圾，乱七八糟的东西，废纸，碎屑。根据句子意思分析，作者想说的是一种乱丢垃圾的动作，因此我们用有“废纸”“碎屑”之意的litter；rubbish也表示垃圾，但它是泛指垃圾，相比litter不够形象具体。
Passage 2.
Plagiarism: Selfdestruction
Why do so many people use planetpapers.com simply to 1) other peoples writing? Is it even possible that someone cannot write their own essay, or that someone cannot read a book of any length? If you plagiarize, arent you 2) yourself to failure? And if you cannot gather information, arent you opening yourself to attacks from the System?
Easy come, easy go.
来得容易去得快。I know many students who use sites such as planetpapers.com to gather researches, 3) other peoples ideas and papers. Yet it still amazes me that people could be so lazy. Think about it: in high school, you are already expected to know whatever material youve been taught. If you cannot get 4) high school without cheating, how well will you do in college? Professors check whether you have cheated, and you are required to write lengthy papers based on detailed research, which is not present on many Internet paper mills and notes sites. If you cannot read, write, and think on your own, you are 5) . Maybe not now, maybe not during your high school career, but eventually, you will 6) a class or get expelled for cheating. If your job requires you to write essays or gather information, and you cheat, (gather information without citing it and getting permission) you will be sued and fired.
During high school and college, you are more likely to hurt your grade than to get into serious trouble. (However, if your paper sounds too well written, or if a teacher finds that you stole information, you can still be expelled.) Lets face it: Cliffs Notes arent the Holy Grail of research. If you read Cliffs Notes or Monarch Notes or planetpapers.com essays, you are 7) to miss important details. Any decent teacher will check whether you read a book, and to do so, he will ask you details and concepts from the work that you did not read. Cliffs Notes shortchange you; there are few concepts and almost no details in those. Monarch Notes only have concepts. And most planetpapers.com essays are written by highscholars, filled with typos and inaccuracies, and nonscholarly.
For the lazy, Cliffs Notes, Monarch Notes, and planetpapers.com are an easy way to 8) work, practice, and thought. However, for the scholar or anyone who wants to be more successful in school, these resources should be just that resources. They are intended to supplement reading, not to replace it. When students read from these works to better understand what they have already read, they are preparing themselves for the real world. And when they enter it, they will be more successful than cheaters.
答案与解析：
1.
答案〖〗plagiarize解析〖〗本词意思是：剽窃，抄袭（别人的文章，学说等）。从文章的题目和第一段中显示的一个网址，我们可以推断出第一个空格中应填入的动词为“抄袭”之意。2.
答案〖〗sentencing解析〖〗本词意思是：宣判，判决，如：be sentenced for thief因盗窃罪被判刑。该词多用于“判决”之意，往往指“对（被判定有罪的人）宣布判决”。用在这里表现了作者对剽窃一事的鄙视态度。3.
More haste, less speed.
欲速则不达。答案〖〗steal解析〖〗本词意思是：偷，窃取，偷盗；掠取，强拿。使用该词描述学生剽窃别人的文章是非常形象的，steal有“偷偷地”做某事的意思。这也是作者对抄袭人员的行为不赞成的表现。4.
答案〖〗through解析〖〗get through 这一词组的意思是：通过，度过。与get 搭配组成的词组有很多，请大家通过例句或短语背诵学习。如：get down困难地吞下。e.g. Come on, get the pill down.来，把药片吞下去。5.
答案〖〗doomed解析〖〗本词意思是：注定失败的。比较doom，fate，destiny这三个词的用法：
(1) doom指“最终的、常常是毁灭性或灾难性的命运”，如：The Battle of Stalingrad sealed Hitlers doom.斯大林格勒战役决定了希特勒的灭亡。
(2) fate指“宿命”，具有神话或迷信色彩，使人有畏惧和无可奈何之感，如：They ascribed their disaster to an unkind fate.他们把他们的灾难归结为命不好。
(3) destiny除含有“命中注定”之意外，还暗示“充满美好希望”，如：It was her destiny to become famous.她命里注定出名。6.
答案〖〗flunk解析〖〗本词意思是：失败，考试不及格，如：He flunked mathematics.他数学没考及格。和后面的动词expel（开除）意思并列。7.
答案〖〗bound解析〖〗固定词组be bound to 的意思是：必定，一定，如：Its bound to rain soon.很快必会下雨。这里强调没有阅读教师制定的材料原文而直接抄袭别人的成果将遭遇诸如不了解材料细节之类的困难的必然性。8.
答案〖〗avoid解析〖〗本词意思是：避开，回避，逃避，如：He tried to avoid studiously answering her.他力图故意回避答复她的问题。与之同意的词组为keep away from。文章介绍了抄袭对于学生等人的诸多弊端，最后总结了抄袭这一行为能够持续存在的主观原因，即它可以使人逃避很多工作，让人闲适自在。【友情提示】
其实，要想使自己的文章中出现一些闪光词并不难，还记得我们在上一篇中提到过的选词的诀窍吗？选词要准，用词要活，时刻记着这两点，你的作文中一定会闪光词不断！
No pains, no gains.
不劳无获。
美文赏析
Some Tips to Workaholics
Lately, your job has taken up much of your time. Youve even started bringing work at home. You spend Saturdays and Sundays with your head bent on your work. And youre supposed to spend these days with your family, or friends, or for your relaxation!
No longer do you work in order to live, but you now live in order to work. A workaholic. This is what you have become. Here are some tips to help you, the workaholic, refocus and get the best out of life and keep you healthy and alive in the long run too!
First, eight hours of sleep! Make it a point to get at least eight hours of sleep. While food has substitutes in the form of natural medicines or artificial foods, there are no substitutes for sleep. Dont believe that you can always “catch some sleep later.” Your body cannot make up for lost sleep because it is not physiologically possible.
Second, strictly family on weekends! Resolve to make Saturdays and Sundays strictly for family time. And stick to this! Mondays until Fridays you make an excuse not to relax and spend time with your family because its work time, why not make a similar excuse for Saturdays and Sundays?
Third, work up those muscles! Exercise, exercise, exercise! Set aside at least an hour each day for exercise. Your body needs to be conditioned, and working nonstop isnt going to give it the proper physical conditioning it needs. Since most workaholics tend to have their behinds stuck on their chairs, its even more important that you get some exercise.
If you start following the tips outlined today, then youve just taken the first step to living a healthy, successful and happy life.
对“工作狂”的一些建议，全文用第二人称，语言简单，口语化较强，但很有感染力。第十二天 Day Twelve