I was born on the 17th of November 1828, in the village of Nam Ping, which is about four miles southwest of the Portuguese Colony (殖民地) of Macao, and is located on Pedro Island lying west of Macao, from which it is separated by a channel of half a mile wide.

As early as 1834, an English lady, Mrs. Gutzlaff, wife of a missionary to China, came to Macao. Supported by the Ladies’ Association in London for the promotion of female education in India and the East, she immediately took up the work of starting a girls’ school for Chinese girls, which was soon followed by the opening of a boys’ school.

Mrs. Gutzlaff’s comprador(買辦) happened to come from my village and was actually my father’s friend and neighbor. It was through him that my parents heard about Mrs. Gutzlaff’s school and it was doubtlessly through his influence and means that my father got me admitted into the school. It has always been a mystery to me why my parents should put me into a foreign school, instead of a traditional Confucian school, where my big brother was placed. Most certainly such a step would have been more suitable for Chinese public opinion, taste, and the wants of the country, than to allow me to attend an English school. Moreover, a Chinese belief is the only avenue in China that leads to political promotion, influence, power and wealth. I can only guess that as foreign communication with China was just beginning to grow, my parents hoped that it might be worthwhile to put one of their sons to learning English. In this way he might become an interpreter and have a more advantageous position to enter the business and diplomatic world. I am wondering if that influenced my parents to put me into Mrs. Gutzlaff’s School. As to what other sequences it has eventually brought about in my later life, they were entirely left in the hands of God.

1.How was the author admitted to Mrs. Gutzlaff’s school?

A. Through his father’s request.

B. Through his father’s friend’s help.

C. Through his own efforts to exams.

D. Through Mrs. Gutzlaff’s influence.

2.Why did the author’s parents put him into an English school？

A. It met with Chinese public opinion.

B. An English school was more influential.

C. He could become a successful interpreter.

D. Foreign trade with China was developing fast.

3.What did the author think of his parents’ decision to put him into an English school?

A. It was skeptical. B. It was wonderful.

C. It was thoughtful. D. It was mysterious.

4.What does the underlined word “sequences” in the last sentence probably mean ?

A. Results. B. Order. C. Series.D. Progress.

Chopsticks

1. When chopsticks were invented?

In fact, before the invention of chopsticks, Chinese ancestors actually used hands to eat, but how did they eat soup and porridge? 1. Chinese started to use chopsticks about 3,000 years ago in Shang Dynasty.

2. Who invented chopsticks?

The records of using chopsticks have been found in many written books but lack physical evidence. However many stories are about the invention of chopsticks. One says that Jiang Ziya, an ancient wise man, created chopsticks. 2. But there is no exact history record about the invention. We can only say that smart ancient Chinese invented chopsticks.

3. How to use Chinese chopsticks.

Using two slim sticks to pick up food is actually not difficult. You can do it if you practice it for some time, even if you are a foreigner. The key to managing chopsticks is keeping one chopstick in position while moving the other to pick up food. 3.

4. Chopsticks Manners

Chopsticks are usually held in the right hand, and left-handed chopstick use is considered as improper in China. Playing with chopsticks is thought to be impolite. 4.

5. The philosophy of Chinese chopsticks

Chinese philosopher Confucius advised people to use chopsticks instead of knives because the metal knives remind people of cold weapons, which mean killing and violence.

6. A chopsticks-themed museum can be found in Shanghai

If you are truly interested in chopsticks, you can pay a visit to the Shanghai Chopsticks Museum. The museum gathered more than 1,200 pairs of chopsticks from China, Korea, Japan and Thailand. 5.

A. Chopsticks were introduced to many other neighbor countries due to its lightness and convenience.

B .It is considered to be polite and thoughtful to pick up food for the elderly and children.

C. Bamboo chopsticks are most frequently used in Chinese daily life.

D. The oldest one was from the Tang Dynasty.

E. There also go around some other stories.

F. Remember to practice with patience.

G. They had to use sticks to eat them.

Two years ago, Dubuque, Iowa, started its first annual "Back to School Bash" program. It offered needy families an opportunity to learn about free in the community. Holmes decided to by providing help to kids. He was two jobs at the time, one of which was working as a barber. Saturday was his day, but he chose to his time and gave free haircuts to lower class kids on condition that the kids should their free haircut by having to read a book to him.

The idea was so that he continued it for the next two years. Many kids would a favorite book, settle into the barber chair, and read aloud Holmes was doing their hair. After the haircut, they'd review the book, from the and vocabulary to the themes—just like in school, only more fun.

Holmes, who is married two sons, recognizes that not every parent has the time to with their kids. So he hopes to offer some in this way. And he admits he, , benefits from doing that.

There was a seven-year-old kid who stuttered(結(jié)巴) over words while reading. He had the boy take the book home and . When the child came back a few days later, he read it with no problems. That Holmes to do more.

Holmes and his family have recently moved to a Chicago suburb. When they get , he plans to restart his as the Storybook Barber. "Today’s world is full of guns and violence," he says, "The barbershop is a place for the kids to come and read books."

1.A. materials B. resourcesC. methodsD. connections

2.A. participate B. performC. developD. withdraw

3.A. faced with B. caught inC. presented with D. engaged in

4.A. happiest B. worst C. busiest D. best

5.A. spend B. waste C. save D. donate

6.A. receive B. earn C. demandD. request

7.A. popular B. ordinaryC. complexD. rigid

8.A. put away B. take overC. pick upD. give out

9.A. before B. after C. while D. until

10.A. kidsB. heroinesC. barbersD. characters

11.A. withB. to C. for D. about

12.A. stayB. read C. talk D. learn

13.A. guidance B. judgmentC. assistanceD. insurance

14.A. again B. still C. then D. too

15.A. usually B. hardly C. merely D. necessarily[來

16.A. write B. practiceC. remark D. reflect

17.A. surprised B. excitedC. inspiredD. impressed

18.A. settled B. relaxedC. pleasedD. refreshed

19.A. ownership B. hobby C. promiseD. role

20.A. secret B. safe C. rough D. crowded

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

I have recently returned from 1. extended 26-day trip to China. I made two earlier trips to China in 2012. On my previous visits my travel 2. (limit) to the three major cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing. This time I, together with my family, was able to visit some of the more remote cities and holiday destinations 3. (miss) on the previous trips and revisit Beijing and Shanghai to observe the great changes there in just four short years.

The many contradictions and 4. (struggle) within China today are very impressive. No one can ignore the rich culture 5. (date) back to ancient times changing into the modern age at a speed and scale that has never been witnessed. 6. happens in China, the third 7.(large) country in the world with 20 percent of the world’s population, will 8. (certain) shape the immediate and distant futures of 9. (we) all.

On this blog(博客) I will be posting a travel journal 10. photographs and drawings. Marked on the map are the cities and villages I visited while in China.

短文改錯

假定英語課上老師要求同桌之間交換修改作文，請你修改你同桌寫的以下作文。文中共有10處語言錯誤，每句中最多有兩處。每處錯誤僅涉及一個單詞的增加、刪除或修改。

增加：在缺詞處加一個漏字符號（∧），并在其下面寫出該加的詞。

刪除：把多余的詞用斜線（\）劃掉。

修改：在錯的詞下面畫一橫線，并在該詞下面寫出修改后的詞。

注意：1. 每處錯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）不計分。

It was on a warm autumn day that my father and I walk into my new high school. After registered in the classroom, the volunteer took me to my dormitory. Altogether I had five roommates, two of which arrived later. I got to know my new roommate immediately. Although I was quite unwilling to say “Goodbye” to my father, but he had to leave to my hometown in the evening. I suddenly realized I had grown up and that I had to look after me and live independently. Not until then I know my senior high school life had real begun.

假定你是武漢晨光中學的李華，你的澳大利亞筆友Mark最近給你發(fā)來郵件，說他準備參加武漢12月31日舉辦的冬季馬拉松比賽(marathon race)，希望你幫助他預定好旅館，并帶他游覽市內(nèi)著名景點（如黃鶴樓 the Yellow Crane Tower, 東湖 East Lake）。請你給他寫封回信，內(nèi)容包括：

1.回復他的要求；

2.詢問他到達的具體時間，呆多久，以便你作具體安排。

注意：

①詞數(shù)100左右；

②可適當添加細節(jié)，使行文連貫；

③開頭和結(jié)尾已經(jīng)給出，不計入總詞數(shù)。

Dear Mark,

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Yours

Li Hua

When my friend Lesa was diagnosed(診斷) with cancer, another friend and I went to the hospital to spend some time with her. We bought her a small toy and named him Lemon－Aide. We gave Lemon－Aide to Lesa and told her he was to go with her to all of her treatments to remind her that we were thinking of her and caring about her even though we could not always be with her. When the treatments were completed, she said when someone else needed him she would pass him along.

A few months later，much to my surprise, it was me that she passed him to. Lemon－Aide went with me to all of my treatments.

One day while waiting for my doctor I decided we could market the idea to fight cancer. Lesa thought it was a great idea so we founded the organization that came to be known as Lemon－Aide' s Friends, Inc. We designed our organization to remind people fighting cancer that there are people who love and care about them all the time. Today we have totally 5013 volunteers. The money raised is donated to cancer patients who do not have insurance. The physicians on our Board of Advisors determine how and where our money is donated.

Lemon－Aide is for men, women, and children of all ages and to date has been sent to 34 states and 33 countries to provide smiling support for people fighting cancer. When life gave us lemons we made Lemon－Aide, a soft smiling toy that represents love, support, and encouragement.

1.The author went to the hospital with her friend ________．

A．to operate on Lesa

B．to treat her disease

C．to accompany Lesa

D．to look after Lemon－Aide

2.Lesa was given a small toy because ________．

A．he represented her organization

B．he could help weaken her pain

C．she would think of her friends

D．her friends tried to comfort her

3.It can be inferred that ________．

A．the author had suffered from cancer

B．Lemon－Aide had suffered from cancer

C．Lesa had recovered from cancer

D．Lemon－Aide learned to look after the author

4.Lesa and the author formed an organization to ________．

A．cure cancer

B．raise money

C．help cancer patients

D．help their friend

Do you often feel lonely? What do you do when you feel that way? Hide yourself away and spend your time reading, watching TV or walking around?

You might think that feeling lonely is just like feeling happy, sad or scared — that it’s just one of your various moods. That is true. However, if you let yourself be lonely for too long without dealing with it, you could be making a serious mistake.

Doctors have known for some time that feeling lonely is bad for the mind. It can lead to mental health problems such as depression, stress and reduce confidence. “Being lonely means not feeling connected or cared for, but it’s not about being mentally alone,” Lisa Jaremka, scientist from Ohio State University, US, told Live Science in January. And there’s growing evidence that not having friends is connected with physical illness as well.

In 2006, for example, scientists studied 2,800 women who had cancer. They found that those who had few friends or family were five times more likely to die of their disease than women with many social contacts. Also, even healthy people had a better chance of falling ill if they felt left out by others, according to the BBC.

The results have scientists thinking that loneliness might hurt the immune system(免疫系統(tǒng)), which protects the body from diseases.

Hoping to prove this theory, Jaremka and her research team put volunteers(志愿者) through a stress test. During the test, volunteers were asked to make an unprepared speech in front of a group of stony-faced people. The researchers found that volunteers who said they were lonely in their daily lives felt more stress during the test. And their blood samples showed that all the stress had managed to cause harmful changes to their immune system.

“Loneliness has been thought of in many ways as a chronic stressor(慢性增壓器) — a socially painful situation that can last for quite a long time, ” explained Jaremka, who led the study.

The number of people suffering from loneliness is increasing all over the world. However, solving the problem is easier said than done. It won’t work to just “tell anyone to go out and find someone to love you”, said Jaremka. “We need to create support networks.”

1.If people feel lonely for a long time, ________.

A. they won’t feel happy anymore

B. they are more mentally harmed than physically

C. they will find the feeling goes away by itself

D. they are more likely to fall ill

2.What was the purpose of the stress test carried out by Jaremka’s team?

A. To find out how people fight diseases.

B. To prove loneliness hurts people’s immune systems.

C. To find out the relationship between loneliness and stress.

D. To see how people’s emotions change when they give unprepared speeches.

3.We can conclude from the article that ________.

A. loneliness has become the No. 1 killer in the world

B. loneliness is increasing due to advanced technologies

C. websites must be set up to help people deal with loneliness

D. much more work needs to be done to fight loneliness

I told my friend Graham that I often cycle two miles from my house to the town centre but unfortunately there is a big hill on the route. He replied, “You mean fortunately.” He explained that I should be glad of the extra exercise that the hill provided.

My attitude to the hill has now changed. I used to complain as I approached it but now I tell myself the following. This hill will exercise my heart and lungs. It will help me to lose weight and get fit. It will mean that I live longer. This hill is my friend. Finally I comfort myself with the thought of all those silly people who pay money to go to a gym and sit on stationery exercise bicycles when I can get the same value for free. I have a smile of satisfaction as I reach the top of the hill.

Problems are there to be faced and overcome. We cannot achieve anything with an easy life. Helen Keller was the first deaf and blind person to gain a university degree. Her activism and writing proved inspirational. She wrote, “Character cannot be developed in ease. Only through experiences of suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved.”

One of the main determinants of success in life is our attitude towards adversity (逆境). From time to time we all face hardships, problems, accidents and difficulties. Some are of our making but many are no fault of our own. While we cannot choose the adversity, we can choose our attitude towards it.

Douglas Bader was 21 when in 1931 he had both legs cut off following a flying accident．He was determined to fly again and went on to become one of the leading flying aviators in the Battle of Britain with 22 aerial victories over the Germans．He was an inspiration to others during the war. He said, “Don’t listen to anyone who tells you that you can’t do this or that. That’s nonsense. Make up your mind, you’ll never use crutches (拐杖) or a stick, and then have a go at everything. Go to school, and join in all the games you can. Go anywhere you want to. But never, never let them persuade you that things are too difficult or impossible.”

The biographies (傳記) of great people are full of examples of how they took steps to overcome the difficulties they faced. The common thread is that they did not become depressed. They chose their attitude. They chose to be positive. They took on the challenge. They won.

Nevertheless, there is still the problem of how you change your attitude towards adversity.

1. Which of the following is true according to the author of the passage?

A. Going to a gym is greatly beneficial to people’s health.

B. Climbing hills on bicycles is the best way to take exercise.

C. Those who want to achieve success can’t expect to live an easy life.

D. People’s attitude to adversity is the only factor of their success.

2. By quoting what Douglas Bader said, the author intends to tell us “ .”

A. Nothing is difficult to the man who will try.

B. A bad workman quarrels with his tools.

C. If you risk nothing, you will have nothing.

D. Failure is the mother of success．

3. Following this passage, the author will further talk about .

A. how his friend helped him to change his attitude towards the adversity he faced

B. why it is important to keep optimistic in face of adversity

C. what steps to take to change your attitude towards the adversity you face

D. what great people have in common

4. Which of the following can best function as the title of the passage?

A. Life is full of adversity

B. Different attitudes towards adversity

C. Nothing is impossible

D. Face adversity with a smile

Among all the fast growing science and technology, the research of human genes, or biological engineering as people call it, is drawing more and more attention now. Sometimes it is a hot topic discussed by people.

The greatest thing that gene technology can do is to cure serious diseases that doctors at present can almost do nothing with, such as cancer and heart disease. Every year, millions of people are murdered by these two killers. And to date, doctors have not found an effective way to cure them. But if the gene technology is applied, not only these two diseases can be cured completely, bringing happiness and moreliving days to the patients, but also the great amount of money people spend on curing their diseases can be saved, therefore it benefits the economy as well. In addition, human life span (壽命) can be prolonged.

Gene technology can help people to give birth to more healthy and clever children. Some families, with the English imperial (皇家的) family being a good example, have hereditary diseases. This means their children will for sure have the family disease, which is a great trouble for these families. In the past, doctors could do nothing about hereditary diseases. But gene technology can solve this problem perfectly. The scientist just need to find the wrong gene and correct it, and a healthy child will be born.

Some people are worrying that the gene research can be used to manufacture human beings in large quantities. In the past few years, scientists have succeeded in cloning a sheep, therefore these people predict that human babies would soon be cloned. But I believe cloned babies will not come out in large quantities, for most couples in the world can have babies in very normal way. Of course, the government must take care to control gene technology.

1. What does “them” in the second paragraph refer to ?

A. People with cancer or heart disease.

B. Millions of people with serious diseases.

C. Some diseases doctors can do nothing with.

D. The two illnesses of cancer and heart disease

2. What can gene technology do according to paragraph three?

A. It can help the English imperial family out.

B. It can be used to clone human babies.

C. It can help people to give birth of a baby.

D. It is likely to treat hereditary diseases.

3. What are people worried about according to the passage?

A. Human babies may be cloned in a large scale.

B. Healthy human babies will soon be cloned.

C. Scientists may well find the wrong genes.

D. The government may not control gene techs.

4. This passage is mainly written to _________________.

A. show gene technology will benefit people

B. show gene technology will do harm as well

C. tell that gene technology is a hot topic

D. tell that gene technology is growing fast