【推荐1】Do you know where family names come from? David, an English writer, tells us something about the family names in English culture in his new book.

Some family names come from the places of their homes. If a man lives on or near a hill, his family name may be Hill. People can call them Mr. Hill or Mrs. Hill. In England people’s family names may be Wood or Lake because they live near a wood or a lake.

Some family names come from people’s jobs. For example, Butcher means someone who sells meat. Farmer is a man who has a farm.

Many people get their family names from nicknames（昵称）. For example, my family name is Black. Because of the different colors, some are called Black and some are called White, Green or Brown. It is said that long ago, few people lived long. There were few people with white hair. When people saw someone with white hair, they would call him or her “white head”.

So, when you see an English man with a strange family name, don’t be surprised. There may be a fascinating story about it.

1. What does David do?

A．He writes books.	B．He works at school.
C．He teaches writing books.	D．He sells books.

2. Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage?

A．Some family names come from the places of their homes.

B．Some family names come from people’s heads.

C．Some family names come from nicknames.

D．Some family names come from people’s jobs.

3. ___________ family names are mentioned（提及）in the passage.

A．Five

B．Six

C．Seven

D．Nine

4. The underlined word “fascinating” in the last paragraph means ___________.

A．interesting

B．welcome

C．easy

D．relaxing

5. What is the passage mainly（主要地）about?

A．Where people come from.	B．The story of “white head”.
C．Where family names come from.	D．The stories of people’s family names.

【推荐2】Most Western people believe 12 star signs and they think that one’s date of birth decides his star sign.     1    

In their opinion, if you were born on 16th May, you should be stubborn, hard-working and patient. You do not like change, and never give up easily.

Is it completely right?     2     A person’s birthday can’t be decided by himself.     3     I have a friend. He was born on 15th April and belongs to Aries. According to the information about Aries, we know that people of Aries are sometimes too impatient and a little selfish. But my friend always does things patiently and he often thinks of others more than himself and isn’t selfish at all.     4     So I think not all the people born under the same star sign share similar characteristics.     5    

根据材料内容，将A—E五个句子文中空缺处，使短文内容完整。

A．He isn’t interested in becoming a leader and just does what he should do.

B．I don’t think so.

C．That may just be a coincidence.

D．They also think that people born under different star signs have different characteristics.

E．But his characteristics can be changed by the environment around him.

【推荐3】阅读短文，从下面的句子中选择合适的句子，还原到短文中，使短文通顺完整、衔接自然。

Everybody in Britain talks about the weather. “Isn’t it a nice day?” “Do you think it will rain?” “I think it’s going to be windy.”     1    

Many people think they can talk about what the weather is going to be like.

But they hardly ever agree with each other. One man may say, “Do you see how cloudy it is in the east? It’s going to rain tomorrow.” Another man will say, “Yes, it’s cloudy in the east.     2    .”

People often look for the weather they want. When a farmer needs water,     3     He won’t believe anything else. In the same way,     4     they’re so sure that the weather is going to clear up very quickly so that they can sit down and eat their lunch.

Almost everyone listens to what the weatherman says. Although he doesn’t always tell us what we want, and     5     still, he usually comes closer to being correct than anyone else.

A．These are common ways of starting a conversation.

B．when some friends are having a picnic,

C．sometimes he makes a mistake,

D．But I think we are going to have fine weather tomorrow.

E．he looks for something to tell himself it’s going to rain.

【推荐1】Listening test is one of the most important parts of the English exam. Here are some tips for you.
Before you start to listen，you need to relax. Don't be stressed out. And try to read the questions. These questions usually help you understand the conversation or the passage.
Then listen carefully to the first sentence. It usually tells you the main idea of the passage. When you're listening，try to do some thinking and take some notes，such as：
☆What happened?
☆When，where，and how?
☆What does the speaker want to tell us?
In this way，you may understand the passage better.
Please remember not to think about one or two words for a long time. When you hear some words you don't know，don't spend too much time on them. Very often，you'll find out what they mean later when you go on with the listening.
1. This passage mainly talks about ________.

A．tips on listening

B．tips on speaking

C．tips on reading

D．tips on writing

2. We should listen to the first sentence carefully，because it usually tells us ________.

A．the answers to the questions	B．where to write the answers
C．the main idea of the passage	D．how much time left(剩余)for the listening test

3. When you're listening，it's important for you to ________.

A．remember every word	B．take some notes
C．understand all the words	D．think about one or two words for a long time

【推荐2】Everyone has been to different places for fun, for exercise or for knowledge. They may be an amusement park, a gym (体育馆), a beach or a museum. Most people believe their experiences of visiting different places make a difference to their lives. They not only bring them a lot of fun, but also help them open up their eyes. A survey (调查) of 1,200 middle school students was made and they were asked about the most meaningful trips to different places. They usually go to the gym to exercise and reduce (减轻) stress. It can make them happier and stronger. And they also go to the library to read books for relaxation (放松). As for the museum, they say that they can learn more in different fields. We can learn more about the survey from the following charts (图表).

ChartⅠ Which place is the most meaningful to visit for students?

●can enjoy wonders (奇观) of ancient times and modern society (社会)
●be able to learn more about different subjects
●can learn in a different way
●can inspire (激励) people to think deeply
ChartⅡ Why do people think going to the museum is meaningful?
根据短文和图表内容，选择最佳答案。
1. ________ of the middle school students choose to stay outdoors (在户外).

A．17%

B．28%

C．33%

D．45%

2. ________ are the most popular places.

A．The library and the gym	B．The park and the beach
C．The gym and the museum	D．The library and the beach

3. ________ students choose to go to the library.

A．264

B．336

C．396

D．458

4. Most of the students choose to go to the museum because ________.

A．they can learn in a different way

B．they are able to learn more about different subjects

C．going to the museum can inspire people to think deeply

D．they can enjoy wonders of ancient times and modern society

5. Which is WRONG according to the passage and charts?

A．Reading books is also a way to relax.

B．Six places are mentioned (提到) in Chart I.

C．Students will go to the gym when they have pressure.

D．Most people like visiting different places because it makes their lives different.

【推荐3】

Do you like fruit salad? Do you want to make fruit salad by yourself? Then you can follow the steps: Step 1: Prepare some fresh fruit, such as strawberries, bananas, apples and oranges. Yogurt is very important. It can make your fruit salad more tasty. Don’t forget salad. You may choose different salad as you wish. Step 2: Wash the fruit carefully. Make sure they are clean enough. Step 3: Cut them in different shapes if you like. Anyway, cut them into pieces. Step 4: Put all your fruit into the plate and sprinkle some yogurt and salad. Mix and stir. Now, your delicious fruit salad is coming. Prepare your forks and your mouth! Enjoy yourself!

1. _______ can make your fruit salad more tasty.

A．Fruit

B．Salad

C．Yogurt

D．Sugar

2. _______ isn’t mentioned (提及) in the instruction.

A．Strawberries

B．Pears

C．Apples

D．Oranges

3. Your fruit can be in _______.

A．the same shapes and pieces

B．the same shapes and halves

C．different shapes and pieces

D．different shapes and halves

【推荐1】Ben, 11 years old, China

Dragon Boat Festival (端午节) is my favorite festival. It is on the 5th day of the 5th month of the Chinese lunar calendar (农历). We can enjoy many interesting activities.

David, 12 years old, America

My favorite festival is Christmas Day (圣诞节). It is on December 25th. We always put a Christmas tree in our house. In the evening, my family have a big dinner at home.

Tmsuk, 11 years old, Japan

My favorite festival is Children’s Day. It is on June 1st. On that day, parents wish (祝愿) their children happy every day.

1. Ben’s favorite festival is ______.

A．Christmas Day	B．Dragon Boat Festival
C．Children’s Day	D．Teachers’ Day

2. On Christmas Day, David’s family have a big dinner ______.

A．in the classroom	B．in school
C．in a store	D．at home

3. On Children’s Day, parents ______.

A．wish their children happy every day	B．make breakfast for their children
C．play football with their children	D．go shopping with their children

【推荐3】“YES! They are still here, the bed, the room,” cried Scrooge. He jumped out of bed, holding one of his bed curtains in his arms. “It was just a terrible dream. Now, I can change the future. I know I can.” This mean old man decided to put things right!

Scrooge hurried to get dressed. And in his excitement he put on his vest inside out. He put on his trousers upside down. He tore his shirt. And he couldn’t find his socks.

“A Merry Christmas to everybody!” shouted Scrooge. “A Happy New Year to all the world.”

He stopped when he heard the church bells ringing. He ran and opened the window. No fog. It was a clear, cold day. Golden sunlight! Sweet fresh air! Happy bells! What a wonderful, wonderful day!

Once outside, Scrooge smiled at everybody and two or three people said, “Good morning, sir! A Merry Christmas to you!” He was walking along the street when he saw one of the kind old gentlemen from the day before. He felt very embarrassed. But he greeted him. “Please forgive me for my bad behavior yesterday. And will you...” Scrooge whispered something in his ear.

“Good heavens!” cried the gentleman. “My dear Mr. Scrooge, are you serious?”

“Of course,” said Scrooge. “Not a coin less. It includes a lot of back-payments (拖欠工资).”

“My dear sir,” said the gentleman. “That’s very kind of you.”

That afternoon, Scrooge walked to his nephew’s house. Thinking of his wrong deed to his nephew, he was very nervous. He walked past the door several times before he finally knocked on it.

The door opened. “Merry Christmas, Fred!” said Scrooge. “I have come for dinner. Can I come in?” Fred was very happy to see Scrooge.

Everything was the same. It was a wonderful party.

1. What did Scrooge want to do after his dream?

A．To get his bed and room back.	B．To correct his mistakes.
C．To hold bed curtains in his arms.	D．To jump out of his bed.

2. How did the writer describe Scrooge’s excitement?

A．By describing his behaviors and the weather.

B．By presenting his appearance and some words.

C．By telling a real and moving story of Scrooge.

D．By reporting an event that happened long ago.

3. Why did Scrooge feel ashamed when he saw the kind old gentleman on the street?

A．The old man couldn’t hear him clearly.

B．The old man didn’t pay his money back.

C．He didn’t smile politely at the old man.

D．He did something rude to the old man.

4. What’s the best title of the story?

A．Christmas Gifts	B．Merry Christmas
C．A Wonderful Party	D．Dreams Come True