A ★★★☆☆

    I’m sitting down in the second period when the principal comes in bringing a new student with him. He says that the new student called Marco has come from Mexico and doesn’t know English. Suddenly I think of my first day of school when I moved from Mexico to Utah. It was hard to move to a place that had a different language and different ways of doing things. I was a little frightened because I was about to start school but I had trouble understanding the teacher.

    When school started I sat in the back so I Wouldn’t draw any attention. Ms Bolling,my new second-grade teacher,made all of US introduce ourselves to everybody. I went up to a kid named Ivan and told him my name and started talking to him in Spanish. Ivan knew Spanish so he was the only one I could talk to. Ivan helped the teacher translate what she was saying to me.

    During lunch break,I didn't v^ant to go outside but the rule was that I couldn^t stay inside during break. After lunch,one of the teachers took me outside and then I got a soccer ball from the equipment room and started playing by myself. I was kicking the ball at the wall and dribbling (運(yùn)球) it. I was pretty good at soccer and I could do some tricks (把戲) with the soccer ball,which attracted Ivan. He came over to me and asked me if I wanted to play soccer with him and his friends. I told him ?eah and when the game was over,he introduced me to his friends,after which we all became good friends.

    Suddenly I realize that Marco is sitting next to me. I introduce myself and start helping him with the worksheet (作業(yè)單) we have to do. After that,the bell rings and he asks me if he can eat lunch with me and I say yeah.

1. It can be inferred from Paragraph 1 that

   A. Marco is from Utah

   B. Marco has caused problems

    C. the author understands Marco well

   D. the author adapted to his new school quickly

2. How did the author communicate with his teacher at the beginning?

   A. By ?peaking English.

   B. With the help of Marco,

    C. By using body language.

   D. Through Ivan's translations.

3. One teacher took the author outside after lunch because .

   A. he wanted to play soccer

   B. he had done something wrong

    C. he had to follow the school's rule   

    D. the teacher wanted to teach him soccer

4. What helped the author make friends with Ivan’s friends?

   A. His courage.

   B. His soccer ball skills,

    C. His teacher’s respect.

   D. His familiarity with Utah.

閱讀下面短文，從短文后各題所給的四個(gè)選項(xiàng) (A、B、C和D) 中，選出可以填入空白處的最佳選項(xiàng)。

    I was lying on my bed relaxing after a long day. Music was playing in the background and I was 21 a book. Just as I turned the page,an old song started playing that 22 me of my mom. I put down the book and 23 . Even though it had been 23 years since cancer took her away from US,sometimes it 24 felt like it was only yesterday. I closed my eyes and 25 the flood of memory to wash over me. I 26 Mom's sweet voice and gentle laugh that never 27 to lift my spirits. I remembered how she 28 every room she walked into. She was a friend to everyone she met and her 29 touched the hearts of many people. She made this world a 30 place just by being in it. And my heart ached as I thought of how I still 31 her so much. I wiped the tears from my cheeks as the 32 finished,looked out my window at the 33 sky,and said “I love y?u,Mom."

    Now some people would ask why I didn't 34 the music the moment that song came on. Why did I subject myself to the 35 it brought? I think the 36 is that sometimes you have to let in a little hurt in order to let in a lot of 37 . Sometimes you have to open your heart in order to 38 live. Life here will always be a mix of the bitter and the sweet,39 you can't shut down your soul. At times you have to embrace (擁抱) the pain and then let it go. When you 40 ,you will find that what is left is love.

21. A. selling   B. borrowing   C. imagining   D. reading

22. A. warned   B. persuaded   C. reminded   D. informed

23. A. complained   B. listened   C. slept   D. reported

24. A. still   B. never   C. hardly   D. also

25. A. forced   B. ordered   C. taught   D. allowed

26. A. remembered   B. realized   C. recognized   D. accepted

27. A. appeared   B. happened   C. served   D. failed

28. A. tidied up   B. built up.  C. brightened up   D. took up

29. A. determination   B. beauty   C. courage   D. kindness

30. A. busier   B. better    C. quiet   D. clean

31. A. missed   B. trusted   C. supported   D. understood

32. A. movie   B. dance   C. song   D. radio

33. A. cloudy   B. sunny   C. dark   D. blue

34. A. shut off   B. pass on   C. put away   D. make up  

35. A. competition   B. chance  C. pain   D. danger

36. A. wonder   B. problem    C. hope   D. answer

37. A. friendship   B. love   C. duty   D. regret

38. A. truly   B. finally    C. gradually   D. safely

39. A. or   B. but   C. since   D. though

40. A. ask   B. do   C. arrive   D. stand

            Don’t stop swimming!

    On September 2 ,2013,Diana Nyad became the first person to swim successfully the dangerous Florida Straits,a 177 km passage from Cuba to Florida,without the protection of a shark cage (鯊魚(yú)籠) . She was 64 years old at that year.

    When she was in her twenties,Diana was already a famous long-distance swimmer,but she retired in 1979. During her early career,Diana had one unsuccessful swim: Her attempt(嘗試) to swim .from Cuba to Florida in 1978 ended after 42 hours in the water. Although she went on with her life,this unrealized dream remained in the back of her mind.

    In early 2010,she turned 60 and decided it was time to pursue her dream again. She began training and,in August 2011,she entered the water to try again 33 years after she had first tried this challenging swim. However,this time she faced strong winds and sea currents and had to give up after 29 hours in the water.

    She tried again a month later,but still wasn’t successful. She waited until the following year for her fourth attempt,but pain from jellyfish?(海蜇) bites forced her to give up. Her fifth attempt began on 31st August,2013t After 53 hours in the water,she. reached Florida and set a new world record.

    It was an unbelievable achieve-ment,but in the words of Diana, “Find a way. Never,ever give up."

    Too many people never realize their dreams,listing all the reasons why they can not achieve them. But Diana N?ad’s story tells US that you should never give up and you’ re never too old to make your dream come true.

True (T) or False (F) :

1. Diana Nyad became a famous swimmer in 1979.()

2. Diana Nyad was faced with strong winds on her fifth attempt to swim from Cuba to Florida.()

          D ★★★☆☆

    Humans have been building walls for thousands of years. Over 2,000 years ago the Roman Emperor Hadrian visited the areas of England that he ruled. He wanted to protect England from being attacked by Scotland. So he decided to build a wall. The finished wall crossed the island from the Irish Sea to the North Sea. Today,people can visit some remains of the wall.

    In the past,governments often solved conflicts (沖突) by talking. But,when governments couldn’t make peace,they might build a wall instead. This is the case with a group of walls in Northern Ireland. For over 30 years there was a conflict between different political groups. It was not a religious conflict,but the people who are fighting with each other mainly belonged to two different Christian groups: Catholic and Protestant. 

    The war ended in 1998 but there are 99 peace lines in Belfast now. Some people still believe the walls are necessary for preventing violence. But most want them gone. In May 2013,Leaders of Northern Ireland and the UK agreed to remove all Peace Walls;by 2023.

    Walls often exist at country borders,aimed to keep out people from another country,such as the ：border between Mexico and the US. Thousands of Mexicans try to cross the border illegally every year which is dangerous. Security forces guard the border;with guns. The border is in a desert area. So even if a person gets across the wall,he may die of hunger or thirst.

    In the 1980s the Czech Republic was part of Czechoslovakia. John Lennon became a symbol of peace in Czechoslovakia. John Lennon was a member of the popular music group The Beatles. He was murdered on December 8 ,1980. After his death someone painted his image on a wall in the city. The Lennon Wall is a symbol of peace and love.

13. The Roman Emperor Hadrian expected the wall could.

   A. serve to protect England

   B. keep Scotland under his control

    C. reduce the violent winds from the North Sea   

    D. offer people a platform t? enjoy the Irish Sea 

14. The group of walls in Northern Ireland .

   A. led to political conflicts

   B. were the result of religious conflicts 

    C. were built to prevent violence

   D. have been pulled down due to people’s requirements 

15. What is special about the wall between Mexico and the US?

   A. It is of great height.

   B. It can prot?ct desert plants.

    C. Its desert conditions reduce illegal border crossings.

   D. There are no armed guards to protect it.

16. What can be inferred about the Lennon Wall?

   A. It tells people Lennon is a national hero.

   B. It is there to remember Lennon's gift for music,

   C. It praises what Lennon did for his music band.

   D. It expresses people's wish for peace and love.

            C       ★★★★☆ 

    Deep in a research lab in New Jersey,16-year-old Alon Millet carefully presses out tiny drops of a special solution(溶液) onto rows of bean(綠豆) he has raised from seed. It's a task he,s patiently performed for nearly three years. He is trying to help in the fight against world hunger.

    The US Agency for Inteb iational Development (USAID) — an organization that works to end poverty (貧窮) 一thinks Alon may be onto something very big. The teenager was one of four students to get a US $10,000 award from the agency last year — chosen from among 1,700 secondary schools in more than 70 countries.

    Courtney Mason,the program manager for the US Global Development Lab,called Alon’s work the“most promising” among hundreds of projects the agency has reviewed at science competitions across America. “Alon’s seed breeding(培植) will probably change the way plants are grovel in the developing world,making them survive drought and natural disasters,” Mason said.

    Alon has some of the usual interests of a teenager,like playing video games,but he also loves to read scientific research papers. One day more than three years ago,Alon was reading about research with his father by an Israeli company that had used a certain solution to make trees grow larger. And that,in turn,helped to produce more paper with fewer trees.

    “So I started thinking, ‘What else could this be used  for?’ ”Alon said.

    He chose the mung bean,which is a main food in the developing world,and got in touch with the company,FuturaGene,who agreed to share some of the solution. He started experimenting. Could he make the beans grow larger and survive bad weather conditions? After two years of measuring,testing and examining,he proved that he could. Now He’s on his 26th experiment with his mung beans.

9. What's the purpose of Alon’s experiments?

   A. To write a scientific paper.

   B. To help solve the problem of world hunger.

    C. To enter a science competition.

   D. To win an award from USAID.   

10. What is Courtney Mason's attitude toward Alon’ s work?

   A. He thinks it useless.

   B. He thinks highly of it. 

    C. He is curious about it.

   D. He is strongly against it.

11. What is Paragraph 4 mainly about?

   A. Alon’s unusual hobbies.

   B. The influence of Alon’s father on him. 

    C. How Alon’s research was performed.

   D. What inspired Alon to do his research.

12. What would be the best title for the text?

   A. Hungry for answers

   B. Mung beans in the lab

    C. Alon’ s 26th experiment   

    D. The seriousness of poverty 

             B ★★★★☆ !

    It is 7 am and the alarm is going off. You know you have to get out of bed to catch the school bus. But the strong wish to bury yourself in the bed is ever so strong. Does it sound familiar?

    During adolescence(青春期) ，the body goes through many changes including changes in sleep patterns. Researchers have found that though : adolescents need as much as 9.5 hours of sleep a day they go to bed later and later with each passing year.

    In fact,the sleep cycle shifts later by as much as ： 12 to 18 minutes each year between the ages of 10 and 20!So by the time a 10-year-old who sleeps at 8 pm ' grows to be 17 or 18,his body naturally wants to stay up till 10:30 or 11 pm.

    According to researchers,this is because of a hormone called melatonin(褪黑素) that is produced by the pineal gland — a tiny structure deep inside the brain. Melatonin controls a body's natural d?y-night patterns. It causes a person tò become sleepy by lowering his body's (體核溫度) .It is produced much later in the evening and continues to increase throughout the night. This makes it difficult for teens to fall asleep earlier as they did in their younger years.

    Sleep is food for the brain. During sleep,important bodily functions and brain activities happen. Not sleeping can be harmful and even deadly 一 especially for those 'who drive. A slow brain makes it difficult to concentrafe. and can affect grades at school.

    The American Association of Pediatrics (AAP) suggests that letting teens sleep in during school days can lead to overall b?peí?ts for them,since children who are suffering from a lack of sleep are more likely to suffer from anxiety,have traffic accidents and perform poorly at schools. In fact,AAP advises that middle and high schools should start later 一 not before 8:30 am. But a later Start time means a later end time too. Will that affect after-school activities?

5. Researchers have found that teens .

   A. should go to bed at 10:00 or 11 pm

   B. will fall asleep later as they grow older 

    C. are unwilling to take the school bus

   D. should sleep more than 9;5 hours one day

6. According to Paragraph 4 ,what causes some teens to be sleepy?

   A. Melatonin. 

    B. After-school activities,

    C. Sleep patterns. 

    D. The core temperature.

7. The AAP believes that .

   A. teens,health is threatened by lack of activities

   B. scho?ls should end earlier than before

    C. lack of sleep affects teens’after-school  activities   

    D. schools should put off their start time

8. The text is mainly concerned with

   A. sleep hours and teenagers' brain

   B. sleep hours and class behavior

    C. effective ways to improve teens’ sleep

   D. a comparison of sleeping more and sleeping less

                A ★★★☆☆

A Trip with Grandma 

    Little Sprout is a lovely hamster (倉(cāng)鼠) ，who is about to go on his first overnight trip with his grandmother and sister,but the thought of being away from his parents makes him nervous. Thankfully,Sprout has brought along a stuffed animal. Gradually,he finds himself having more fun. This hamster will help your child find the courage to take his first trip away from home.

Lately Lily 

    Lily is a brave girl whose parents are travel writers. She is travelling the world with her parents and her best friend Zeborah. Together,they explore the world and make new friends. The bright colours of the illustrations(插圖) bring the wonders of travelling to life. The book focuses on the exciting exploration and will encourage readers to venture into the world. There is also a fun App offered to feature Lily on a tour of Paris.

Greetings from Kiwi and Pear 

    Kiwi and Pear are two little monkeys who start an adventure around the world. They send readers a postcard from each place they visit. The monkeys visit some of the most famous places,including the Eiffel Tower and the Taj Mahal. The book comes with a map that shows all the stops on their journey. Readers can track the monkeys’ trip as they travel the world,giving kids a chance to learn some geography.

Not For Parents series 

   Lonely Planet is the largest travel guide book publisher in the world. It started a series designed for young travellers. Today,the series totals more than 20 books about the wonders of the world,how to be a world explorer and even how to search for dinosaurs. The humor of the books will attract children and make it easy for them to remember what they are reading.

1. Why does little Sprout feel upset?

   A. He has lost his stuffed animal.

   B. His grandmother treats him badly.

    C. He is unwilling to travel with his sister.

   D. He will be separate from his parents for some time.

2. What do we know about Lily?

   A. She is a courageous girl.

   B. She wants to be a travel writer.

    C. She makes a new friend called Zeborah.

   D. She makes use of an App to guide her trip.

3. Which of the following contains a map that shows the stops of the trip?

   A. Lately Lily.

   B. Not For Parents series,

    C. A Trip with Grandma.

   D. Greetings from Kiwi and Pear.

4. Both Lately Lily and Greetings from Kiwi and Pear.

   A. use humorous words

   B. are about adventurous stories

    C. tell science fiction stories 

   D. teach kids to love their family 

假定英語(yǔ)課上老師要求同桌之間交換修改作文，請(qǐng)你修改你同桌寫(xiě)的以下作文。文中共有10處語(yǔ)言錯(cuò)誤，每句中最多有兩處。每處錯(cuò)誤僅涉及一個(gè)單詞的增加、刪除或修改。

增加：缺詞處加一個(gè)漏詞符號(hào)(∧) ,并在其下面寫(xiě)出修改后的詞。

刪除: 把多余的詞用斜線( \ ）掉。

修改：在錯(cuò)的詞下劃一橫線，并在該詞下面寫(xiě)出修改后的詞。

注意：1. 每處錯(cuò)誤及其修改均僅限一詞；

2. 只允許修改10處，多者(從第11處起) 不計(jì)分。

    Once there was a rich man whom got a serious eye disease. Afraid of go blind he got a famous doctor to treat his eyes. The doctor advised himself to avoid bright light for a month As soon as the doctor left,the rich man closed all his windows but replaced all the bright and colorful curtains '.in dark-colored ones. One month late,the doctor paid a visit his patient to check on his recovery. To the doctor's surprise,everything in the house were dark and dull.Then he said to the man, “In the fact,you could have .bought a pair of sunglass instead of Spending SO much money making everything darker.” 

閱讀下面材料，在空白處填入適當(dāng)?shù)膬?nèi)容(1個(gè)單詞) 或括號(hào)內(nèi) 單詞的正確形式。

    Joanne Kathleen (J.K.) Rowling was bom in England on 31st July,1965. She wrote her first book,Rabbit、21 she was six years old. At school she liked English and other languages,and she chose 22(study) French in university. She graduated 23 university and worked as a secretary and a teacher.

    At the age of 26 J;K. Rowling went to Portugal and became 24 English teacher. She wanted to be a writer and wrote some stones about a boy 25 (call) Harry Potter. She got married and had a baby daughter. 26soon after,she divorced(離婚) and went to Scotland.

    There she lived in a small apartment with her daughter. She taught French in a school,but she 27 (real) wanted to make the Harry Potter stories,into a book. This was a very difficult time in her life because they had no money. It was in a café 28 she wrote the first Horry Potter book.

    In June 1997 the first Harry Potter book became famous and J.K. Rowling's life 29 (change) . Soon there were more Harry Potter books,and films too. Children loved her books and J.K. became a highly 30 (success) writer

       Turn around the compliment

     I remember one of the last few years at a theme park. I spent about five years running a small shop across from a wonderful comedian (喜劇演員) .

     His name was Moonie,and he was amazing. His skit(滑稽短劇) was done using nothing but gestures and noises instead of words. I remember that I was always entertained when watching his shows. He always managed to keep things fun,lively,and fresh. That was a very hard thing to do,considering he did the same skits for five years several times a day, .each weekend.

    When I heard it would be his last performance in the park,I wanted to thank him for all the amazing shows he had done. He was standing with the crowd after one of his last shows of the day,and as each person dropped a tip into his basket,he pointed at them,saying very playfully “No,you’re the greatest!” to each one.

    I walked up to him and dropped $20 into his basket,and he turned to me,smiling very brightly,and continued with another saying “No , you’re the greatest!” I stopped him .and said, “No,Moonie,you are the greatest. I have been watching your shows for five years from that shop right over there,and I just want to say thank you for the amazing shows that you have given me."

    The look on his face said that he was truly touched by that comment. He politely asked to shake my hand. I accepted and we shared a very deep moment of mutual (互相的) respect ank thankfulness. Finally I walked away very happily,and I know he did too.

   What does the word “compliment” in the title of the text mean?

   A. Praise.   B. Truth,

    C. Choice.   D. Gift.