One of the most common complaints I hear from families is that they are not close. They may be close in proximity, but still not feel close as a 1_. They may live next door or in the same house, but not feel  2  .

Closeness is about   3 . We feel close when we feel 4 ,  when we feel loved and when we simply enjoy being together. We may live far apart and still feel close, or we may  5  a home yet feel distant.

Closeness is a family trait that   6  over time. It is planted by love, watered by honest sharing and fed by true listening. It grows slowly and sometimes  7  years to mature; but it’s roots grow deep. It can  8  most storm and sustain a family through the most  9  time.

I received a letter from a reader in Hawaii. She  10  out that the CEO of one of the island’s largest banks was   11  a run for governor. Since he was well—liked, he seemed to have a good

  12 of winning.

But before filing papers, he  13  his mind, stating that he wanted to spend more time with his  14. Not that elected officials cannot be family—oriented, but he felt he needed more time at home than the job  15  .

Ronald A Young, in the Honolulu Advertiser, said this about the candidate’s decision: “No matter what you 16 in the business world or the social world, if you fail the family, then you have not accomplished much. Failure or success does not  17  in the material wealth you provide them. It is  18  by what of yourself you give to them.”

He made a  19  to give the best of himself to his family. He  20  family closeness first, despite pressure to put more time elsewhere. It’s likely a decision he’ll never regret.

1．A．house                   B．home                  C．family                D．group

2．A．physically             B．emotionally         C．behaviorally        D．officially

3．A．attitude                 B．points                 C．ambition             D．ideas

4．A．misunderstood      B．understood          C．annoyed             D．disappointed

5．A．share                   B．stay                    C．live                    D．keep

6．A．grows                  B．changes              C．stays                  D．happens

7．A．pays                    B．spends                C．takes                  D．costs

8．A．weather                B．carry                  C．keep                   D．protect

9．A．happy                  B．difficult              C．joyful                 D．funny

10．A．pointed               B．set                     C．put                     D．gave

11．A．thinking              B．considering         C．expecting            D．waiting

12．A．sign                   B．mark                  C．score                 D．chance

13．A．kept                   B．changed              C．stuck                 D．made

14．A．family                B．friends                C．people                D．officials

15．A．provided             B．allowed               C．had                    D．gave

16．A．complete            B．finish                  C．get                     D．accomplish

17．A．lie                      B．result                  C．say                    D．happen

18．A．concerned          B．tested                 C．measured            D．examined

19．A．plan                   B．solution              C．promise              D．decision

20．A．took                   B．brought              C．chose                 D．held

Last night was the last game for my eight-year-old son’s soccer team. It was the final quarter. The score was two to one, my son's team in the lead. Parents surrounded the playground, offering encouragement.

       With less than ten seconds remaining, the ball suddenly rolled in front of my son's teammate, Mickey O’Donnel. With shouts of “Kick it!” echoing (回響) across the playground, Mickey turned around and gave it everything he had. All around me the crowd erupted (沸騰). O’Donnel had scored!

       Then there was silence. Mickey had scored all right, but in the wrong goal, ending the game in a tie. For a moment there was a total hush. You see, Mickey has Down Syndrome (綜合癥) and for him there is no such thing as a wrong goal. All goals were celebrated by a joyous hug from Mickey. He had even been known to hug the opposing players when they scored.

       The silence was finally broken when Mickey, his face filled with joy, hugged my son tightly and shouted, “I scored! I scored. Everybody won! Everybody won!” For a moment I held my breath, not sure how my son would react. I need not have worried. I watched, through tears, as my son threw up his hand in the classic high-five salute and started chanting, “Way to go Mickey! Way to go Mickey!” Within moments both teams surrounded Mickey, joining in the chant and congratulating him on his goal.

    Later that night, when my daughter asked who had won, I smiled as I replied, “It was a tie. Everybody won.”

1．What was the score of the soccer match?

       A．Two to two, equal to both the teams.

       B．Three to one in Mickey’s team’s favor.

       C．Two to one in the opposite team’s favor.

       D．One to one, everybody won because of Mickey’s goal.

2．The underlined word “hush” in paragraph 3 means ________.

       A．cheer                  B．cry                     C．laughter               D．silence

3．What did the author worry about when Mickey scored and hugged his son?

       A．The result of the match would disappoint his son.

       B．His son would shout at Mickey for his goal.

       C．Mickey would again hug the opposing players.

       D．His son would understand Mickey’s wrong goal.

4．The purpose of the author in writing the passage is ________.

       A．to tell a joke to make readers laugh

       B．to suggest we should not mind losing

       C．to show enjoying a game is more than winning a game

       D．to present his son’s fine qualities of understanding others

If You Make a Mistake, Don’t Worry!

       Yeah, you’ll want to forget about them, but mistakes can be useful. Making a mistake doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world. In real life you have to grow and mature, and with that comes some growing pains.

You know you should have studied hard but you went out with some friends instead. You know you should have put the money into the bank for a rainy day instead of spending it on all kinds of things you didn’t need.

It’s the growing pains called mistakes that most people make when they are growing up. Face them. You are going to make them. Learn from them. All of the people you wish to copy, such as all the experts in your business field, have made mistakes. They’ll continue to make mistakes for all their successes.

One of the major differences between people like them and the vast majority（大多數(shù)）of others is that they don’t let their mistakes stop them. Instead, they use their mistakes as learning tools.

At the very least, when you make a mistake, you’ll know what not to do. And you can help others by warning them of the mistakes you’ve made. Don’t let mistakes stop you from doing anything. Learn from them, don’t hide in a closet. Facing up to your mistakes now and later will mature.

What mistakes are you making right now? Take a look at anything you might be doing wrong. Take a step back and evaluate your situation, then fix whatever needs to be corrected. Then move forward.

Always remember your mistakes to remind yourself of what not to do for the future.

1．Why does the writer say mistakes can be useful?

       A．Because you can get some growing pains.

       B．Because experts also make mistakes.

       C．Because you can mature by facing and learning from mistakes.

       D．Because next time you know that money shouldn’t be wasted.

2．Which statement is true according to the writer?

       A．Before you make any mistake, you had better lock the closet in your room.

       B．Keep your mistakes in mind in order not to make the same mistakes again in the future.

       C．Don’t go out with some of your friends any more.

       D．Forget your mistakes and move forward.

3．When we make any mistake next time, we should do the followings except _       __.

       A．Think about the reason why we make the mistake.

       B．Try to correct the mistake.

       C．Tell others not to make the same mistake as you do.

       D．Be careful not to do anything.

4．From the text, we can infer that __     ___.

       A．facing mistakes, some people lose heart

       B．mistakes can be useful

       C．mistakes can be called growing pains

       D．Put away money when it is rainy

With both hands resting on top of the steering wheel, Oshima looks over at me: “That’s where you will be living now, Kafka. In the room where Miss Saeki used to spend time with her boyfriend. As I said, there is some change to the library, but it’s the very same room. ”

       Silence on my part.

    “Miss Saeki’s life stopped at age 20,when her lover died. No, maybe not age 20, maybe much earlier... I don’t know the details, but you need to know of this. The hands of the clock inside her soul stopped then. Time outside, of course, flows on as always, but she isn't affected by it. For her, what we consider normal time is meaningless.”

       “Meaningless?”

    Oshima nods. “Like it doesn’t exist. ”

    “What you're saying is Miss Saeki still lives in that frozen time?”

    “Exactly. When you get to know her better you'll understand.”

    Oshima reaches out and lays a hand on my knee on a totally natural gesture. “Kafka,in everybody’s life there’s a point of no return. And in a very few cases, a point where you can’t go forward any more. And when you reach that point, all we can do is quietly accept the fact. That's how we survive.”

    We’re about to get onto the main highway. “There’s one other thing I’d like you to know of,” he goes on. “Miss Saeki has a wounded heart. To some degree that's true of all of us. But Miss Saeki has a special wound that goes beyond the usual meaning of the term. Her soul moves in mysterious ways. I’m not saying she's dangerous-don't get me wrong. On a day-to-day level she's certainly got her act together, probably more than anyone else I know. She’s attractive, deep, smart. But just don’t let it worry you if you notice something strange about her sometimes.”

       “Strange?” I can’t help asking.

       Oshima shakes his head. “I really like Miss Saeki, and respect her. I'm sure you'll come to feel the same way.”

       This doesn’t really answer my question, but Oshima doesn’t say anything.

1．The conversation takes place           .

       A．in a library

       B．in a moving car

       C．where Miss Saeki used to spend time with her boyfriend

       D．where Kafka lives

2．Which of the following statements is right?

       A．Oshima knows every detail about Saeki.

       B．Oshima knows Saeki well enough to understand her.

       C．Oshima knows Saeki better than anyone else.

       D．Oshima knows very little about Saeki, but respects her.

3．We can infer from the passage that          .

       A．there is something wrong with Saeki’s clock

       B．nobody likes Saeki because she refuses to accept the fact

       C．Saeki is attractive, smart but dangerous

       D．Saeki carries only the memory of a childhood lover that death took away from her

4．The writer wants to give us a feeling of          by giving readers the description of Saeki.

       A．mystery    B．horror       C．amazement       D．danger

If you take a look at the best-selling books in the UK these days, it is almost certain that there will be a lot of autobiographies in that list. Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela and actor Michael J Fox have all written them.

       An autobiography is the story of a person’s life, written by that person. It is usually a very famous person who might tell us all about their childhood, how they became famous and any other interesting things that have happened in their lives.

      Traditionally, someone would write an autobiography when they were older because they had had a long, successful life. However, these days there are many magazines with stories and photos of the stars which sell very well. Reality TV shows are extremely popular and lots of people become famous very easily just from being on the TV rather than being able to sing or act well. As a result, people become famous very quickly and as soon as they are famous, a lot of money can be made from writing an autobiography, even if they are very young.

       So now you can find an autobiography from almost everyone who is in the public eye. Even though we can follow the lives of the stars very closely on TV or in magazines nowadays, we maybe don’t know how they live their lives from day to day. Autobiographies often give the information we never knew about the stars. The British public are very curious to find out more so they are very eager to read autobiographies.

       Not every star wants to write though. Sometimes stars employ writers to write their life stories for them. The writer will interview the star, listen to everything they want to say, record interviews and then write the book based on their words. David Beckham did this with his book My Side.

       Not everyone likes to read books regularly but they might like to read about the lives of stars. Autobiographies are helping to get more British people reading books. About 100 million autobiographies are sold in Britain every year. More stars depend on them for extra income and as more of these books appear in the shops, more people are sure to keep buying them.

1．An autobiography is         .

       A．always a best-seller in the UK

       B．someone’s life story normally written by themselves

       C．a magazine with stories and photos of a star

       D．a program that tells us the lives of the stars nowadays

2．Traditionally, someone would write his autobiography when             .

       A．they became famous

       B．they wanted to make money

       C．they were older and had achieved a lot

       D．they wanted to share their childhood with the readers

3．The writer probably would agree that autobiographies are good in that            .

       A．they tell us a lot about the everyday life of famous people

       B．famous people earn a lot of money by selling them

       C．they encourage people to read

       D．we can learn a lot from them

請認真閱讀下列短文，并根據(jù)所讀內容在文章后表格的空格處里填入最恰當?shù)膯卧~。

注意：每個空格填1個單詞。

       Some people believe that greed and selfishness has become the basis of modern society, and we should return to the old traditions of family and community then we will have a better life. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the above opinion?

       In this fast-paced world, many values are undergoing major changes. While people

traditionally prioritize caring, sharing and generosity in life and work, modern people seem to be more self-absorbed and self-concerned.

       Modern people act selfishly to survive the harsh competition of life. They say that it is a jungle out there. To survive, you have to fight with whatever means that come handy. Obviously greedy and selfishness go perfectly well with such ideas. In a company, employees do everything they can to get better pay and higher position, even at the cost of colleagues. We are in any way advocating any selfish conduct. It is just that people are pressured to act in a certain way due to outside influences.

       In spite of common practice, it is hard to conclude that modern society is built on greed and selfishness, both of which are not newly invented vocabulary. In ancient times people also did greedy and selfish things though such behaviors were more condemned then. But we can not ignore the fact that people in the past lived a relatively more isolated life and faced less pressure compared with their modern counterparts.

       Are we happier to share with others and be generous to them? There is no fixed answer either. Some people take great pleasure helping and giving to others while others feel happy doing the opposite. But I personally think that people should not be too selfish. Caring for others can actually encourage the development of a mutually beneficial relationship

       In conclusion, modern people appear to be more self-centered than those in the past due to strong outside pressure. However, we should encourage people to know the importance of being caring and generous and build a mutually beneficial relationship with others.

Are Modern People Becoming More Selfish?

面對繁重的高中學習任務，高中生對參加學�；顒佑兄�不同的看法，請以Taking Part in School Activities 為題，用英文寫一篇150詞左右的短文，著重介紹兩種不同的觀點和態(tài)度，最后談你個人看法。不得署名。

       △很多學生持擁護態(tài)度，認為既可以學到實踐知識，又可以得到放松；

       △不少學生不關心，認為學習就應該學習，學校活動與學習無關。嘲諷積極參加學�；�

    動的學生。

       標題和開頭已給，不計入總詞數(shù)。少于或多于150詞20個以上扣2分。

Taking Part in School Activities

       As for school activities, students mainly hold two views.

--_________? You look unhappy?

--Nothing．

A．What's up                                        B．How come

C．What for                                            D．What about you

Russia handed over half of an island in _________ northeastern province of Heilongjiang to China yesterday，formally ending _________ decades-long border dispute between the two countries．

A．a；the           B．the；a                C．不填；不填           D．the；不填

The written record of our conversation doesn't _________ with what was actually said．

A．co-operate                  B．attach            C．allocate            D．correspond