Word of the Day Writing Competition

Days are getting colder, and everyone is slowly backing to the warm comfort of their homes. It’s the best opportunity to make good use of the quietness and peace of the season by taking pen and paper(or a computer) out to write.

OxfordWords of Oxford University Press(OUP) is calling all aspiring(有抱负的) authors out there to take part in our writing competition. What we’re looking for are imaginative(富有想象力的) short stories—not more than 500 words---that include every Word of the Day (WOTD) from November.

Each entry will be carefully considered by the OxfordWords team before deciding on a winner. The best storyteller will be given a year’s fee to OxfordDictionaries.com, as well as ￡50 worth of OUP books, and have his or her piece published on that website.

Before you get started, please make sure you’re read our terms and conditions. Entries can be submitted(递交) through the entry form, or posted into the comment section. Closing date for the competition is 5th January 2015.

And finally, for inspiration, have a look at the charming short story that gives us the idea for this competition, written by a fellow Oxford Dictionaries team member, and including all thirty one Words of the Day from October.

Find out more about our Word of the Day service and sign up to receive the words via email, or on Facebook, Google, and Twitter.

1.     What type of writing is this test?

A.      An exhibition guide.

B.      An art show review.

C.      An announcement.

D.     An official report.

2.     The stories for the competition must______.

A.      be about OxfordWords

B.      have more than 500 words

C.      contain all the words of WOTD

D.     be handed in before 5th January 2015

3.     The winner of the competition can______________.

A.      read all the books of OUP free of charge

B.      use OxfordDictionaries.com for free for a year

C.      be allowed to be on the OxfordWords team

D.     publish all of his or her works on OxfordDictionaries.com

Alpacas(羊驼) are members of the camel family, having lived in South America for thousands of years. Their fur gives the animals a teddy bear_like appearance. Alpacas are too small to be used as animals of burden but are valued only for their fur. Generally, their lifespan is around 15 to 20 years.

Alpacas are social animals that live in family groups made up of a male, females and their young. They are gentle, elegant, curious, intelligent and observant. They are safe and pleasant to be around, moving gracefully and slowly around the field, and are therefore unlikely to run into or over anyone, even small children. Occasionally, an alpaca will spit snd kick, but the soft padded(有爪垫的) feet usually do little more than just“get your attention”.

Because these animals are environmentally friendly and need so little grass and food, you can usually raise from two to eight alpacas on an acre of land with grass or hay. A single, 60 pound bale(大捆) of hay can generally feed a group of about 20 alpacas for one day. Alpacas also require access to plenty of fresh water to drink.

Alpaca fur is used for making knittedd and woven(编织) items, just as sheep’s wool is.These items include blankets, sweaters, hats, gloves, scarves, a wide variety of textiles(针织品) in South America, and sweaters, socks, coats and bedding in other parts of the world. The fur comes in more than 52 natural colors as classified in Peru, 12 as classified in Australia and 16 as classified in the United States.

4.     According to the text, alpacas can be best used_______.

A.      for long distance rides

B.      to protect home

C.      for children to play with

D.     to carry heavy goods

5.     What does the underlined part in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

A.      Alpaca’s kick can’t hurt you.

B.      Alpacas want to draw your attention.

C.      You must look out for Alpacas’ attack.

D.     You should pay more attention to Alpaca

6.     If you have 5 acres of land to raise Alpacas, how much hay do you need a day at most?

A.      60 pounds.

B.      120 pounds.

C.      100 pounds.

D.     180 pounds.

7.     According to the last paragraph, which of the following is true?

A.      Alpaca fur is a kind of sheep’s wool.

B.      Alpaca fur is only used for making sweaters in Australia.

C.      The US produces the most Alpaca fur in the world.

D.     Alpaca fur produced in Peru comes in the most natural colors.

I was driving home from the gym with my children. It was approaching bed time.

“ My legs hurt, I can’t walk to the car.” said my son, William. Then be sat on the ground regardless of whatever we said.

“Maybe you just need a banana? They’re good for tired bones.” his sister, Meredith, persuaded him in a wise way.

This was the first time I had heard of the banana’s miracle(神奇的) cure for achy bones. It distracted(使分心) William and we were able to make it to the car. His wish for bone relief brought him energy and he persisted(坚持) the entire ride home. Upon arrival, he struggled out of the car and slowly went up 3 steps into the house. While he took his ”medicine”, we arrived on a suitable diagnosis (诊断) for his “illness” ---a serious case of Banana Bone. He was probably just over—tired. He had a long day and played hard in the Adventure Room at the gym. Thankfully we kept some bananas in the fridge, and hugs and kisses were given as a booster (辅助药剂) , which gave him the courage to walk upstairs to sleep.

Banana Bone sounds like something I’ve had before. The aching hasn’t been in my bones so much as in my head and my heart. I think it’s a condition related to stress, lack of rest and stretching of one’s abilities. Perhaps you’re experienced it too. It is about long days facing challenges or pressing against the edges of your own ability without any hope.

That’s when you realize Banana Bone doesn’t have to be a physical illness. It can be mental. It can drive emotion. It means you can choose it or you can choose against it. It’s not real. It’ s your reaction to what’s real. I know, it’ s still not easy. But it’ s part of “growing up”. We must have the courage to overcome it and I believe we can make it﹗

My advice to you? Eat a banana and go to bed. You’ll feel a lot better and be your fresh self in the morning.

8.     People need the same kind of “banana” as William did when they_____.

A.      feel puzzled over choices

B.      are under a stressful condition

C.      find it hard to make changes

D.     hold on to the wrong things

9.     What attitude does the author think we should have towards “Banana Bone” ?

A.      Respectful.

B.      Supportive.

C.      Fearless.

D.     Doubtful.

10.   When you are suffering “Banana Bone”, you had better______________.

A.      distract and refresh yourself

B.      stop and wait for a better chance

C.      break down your old habits and give up

D.     ask doctors for clear guidance

11.   What can be the best title for the text?

A.      Bone Made of Banana

B.      My Daughter’s Trick

C.      Miracle Banana

D.     Banana Bone

 A Kickstarter launched Friday will allow interested parties to set up a camera and pet toys in their home for anyone to play with their pets remotely. It’s called the ipet Companion, an Internet-connected camera and device that streams video online and allows basic commands from people watching. They can move the camera, look at their pet and press a button to swing a toy around.

 Obviously, demand is strong. The Kickstarter proved so popular that Scott Harris, iPet Companion’s founder, said that thousands of people started asking for it.

 The reason why people keep talking about this is the emotional(情感的) connection they have from a thousand miles away. If you want, you can enter a queue to move the camera and play with the pets. Each room has toys that are hooked(钩住) into Internet-connected devices, and you can move them by pressing a button.

But there’s sort of a problem: Pets get bored easily. Young pets will stay more interested than adult pets, but finally even a baby pet will get bored, too. To stop that from happening, you’d better limit the pets’ access(接近) to the boys and change the place where they’re located in the room.

Harris understands this and said you can plug anything into that adapter(适配器) ---toys that you can get on your own. And that’s where the iPet Companion really gets interesting. Harris explained that the device is actually sort of a Trojan horse to bring the “Internet of things” to more homes. You don’t really have to use it for pets. The adapter could be used for any device with an electrical plug---a sprinkler, say, that you’d be able to activate to water your grass.

“Our whole goal, our whole purpose is to let anyone control any physical object that they want to while they travel anywhere in the woorld,” Harris said.

12.  What does the underlined word “remotely” in Paragragh 1 probably mean?

A.      far away.

B.      For free.

C.      With pity.

D.     Out of control.

13.  Many people are interested in iPet Companion because______________.

A.      it can be used to kill time

B.      it is easy to control online

C.      it can meet all of their demands

D.     they can show their love for faraway pets by using it

14.  Why do the pets stop playing the toys soon?

A.      Pets are not clever enough to play the toys.

B.      They don’t receive rewards from the games.

C.      Toys are played with too often at the same place.

D.     Adult pets prevent young ones from playing the games.       

15.  What can we infer from what Scott Harris said?

A.      iPet Companion is only a kind of toy.

B.      Kickstarter can be used in many other ways.

C.      iPet Companion can actually be turned into a toy horse.

D.     iPet Companion can look after pets while their owners are away.

The English language has many ways to talk about something that is funny. __16__ It is a basic human need. Physical humour, especially, can cross limits like nationality and language and bring people together from all different walks of life.

Humour comes in many forms. The most obvious and traditional way we use humour is in jokes. __17__This is when a person changes a word or uses it in a different context(上下文) for comic effect.

Another way people can use humour is through telling a funny story. Perhaps something bad happened to the person but they can laugh about it now. People also invent funny stories in order to make people laugh. The advantage of this is that the characters aren’t real. __18__

  Physical comedy usually divides opinions. For some, seeing someone fall down, whether it is planned or not, is one of the funniest things they can see. __19__ Some types of humour can also be harmful if someone is not in the mood for being made fun of！People’s senses of humour vary across the world, so what may be funny in your country might be incredibly harmful in another!

__20__ The British, for instance, are famous for their humour in English. However, people learning a foreign language face much difficulty when it comes to being funny in a second language.

A.       Humour is just one of the ways.

B.       Everyone needs to laugh once in a while.

C.       Other forms of humour are word play and puns(双关语).

D.       Therefore, you don’t have to feel bad for laughing at them!

E.       People of all ages and cultures have a strong sense of humour.

F.       Most people know how to use some form of humour in their native languages.

G.      For others, finding physical humour and non-serious accidents funny seems cruel.