1 . 选择最恰当的选项完成短文。

A. chance        B. However            C. shapes            D. attract          E. helpful             F. solve

Building blocks (积木) are still one of the most popular traditional toys today. Their interesting design and easy use     1     children of all ages. Most traditional toys, like building blocks, were first made of wood. Today, wooden building blocks are still used, But now there are several other types of building blocks to choose from, like plastic building blocks.

Children build all kinds of things that they see in everyday life with building blocks. This gives them the     2     to learn new things and life skills.

Building blocks can help children practice their language skills.Most children talk to each other as they build things with these traditional toys. This type of toy also helps develop the skills that children need in life. As they begin to join groups playing with building blocks, they learn to take turns, to share, and to     3     problems with others.

    4    , these are not the only advantages of playing with building blocks. The building blocks also help develop children’s skills in math and science. They allow children to work according to the steps of scientific discovery, which are first to watch and think, and then to test. Traditional toy building blocks also come in different     5    , colors and sizes. These types of building blocks encourage children to develop skills in dividing things.

Playing with building blocks is not only fun but also very     6    . Maybe that is the reason why building blocks are still favorite today.

2 . Complete the following passage with the words in the box. Each word can only be used once.

A. lucky        B. stayed up        C. endless        D. release     E. concert        F. suppose        G. repeat

I guess most of you have had an experience like it: it’s the weekend, but instead of having a good rest, you have to bury yourself in the     1     homework you have left over from the week. This was my routine, too. But it came to an end during my school’s “No Homework Weekend”.

The activity was announced two weeks in advance so we could get prepared. Students in my class did not have any homework on the special weekend, but students in other classes were not so     2    . There were also some teachers who told their students: “You don’t have homework this weekend, but you do have a test next Monday.” This meant: “You don’t have to prepare for the test during the weekend, but good luck if you don’t!” Well, teachers will be teachers, I     3    .

I really made the most of those two days without homework. On Friday night, I     4     chatting with my friends online because we didn’t need to worry about homework. On Saturday, I watched a     5    , and on Sunday I had a good sleep and organized my notes. Normally I have so much regular homework that I do not have time to review and organize class notes. But on that weekend, I finally had time to do it.

“No Homework Weekend” was really a great time to     6     stress and take a look at what we had learned so far. I loved it and I hope my school holds more weekends like it in the future!

3 . Complete the following passage with the words or phrases in the box. Each word or phrase can only be used once（将下列单词或词组填入空格。每空格限填一词，每个单词或词组只能填一次）

A) hearing     B) accepted     C) special     D) same     E) sight     F) abilities

There are around 10, 000 guide dog teams in the United States. Do you know about the origin of them in the United States? I believe the following story will catch your     1     attention.

       Back in 1927, Eustis wrote an article about a guide dog program in Germany. The guide dogs in Switzerland helped German soldiers who had lost their     2     in World War I.
       Morris Frank’s father read the article to him. Frank lost one eye in a childhood accident and the other in a boxing match at the age of 16. They wrote to Eustis and hoped to get a trained dog. Eustis     3     it and invited the 19-year-old Frank to come to Switzerland.
       The following year, Frank returned to the United States with Buddy. It was a female German shepherd (牧羊人) who was trained to guide him. Frank toured the country and told people about the amazing     4     of Buddy. Together, Frank and Buddy traveled 50, 000 miles, and they were featured in a 1936 interview in the New York Times.
       After the original Buddy died, he kept the     5     name, Buddy—or all other guide dogs he had in his life.

4 . 将下列单词或词组填入空格。每空格限填一词，每词只能填一次。

A. naturally       B. word        C. at least   D. modern        E. first       F. described

If you were asked to recite (背诵) lines of poetry that have the Chinese     1     “hua”—which means “flower”—how many could you recite?

He Liran, a student at Harbin No. 163 Middle School in Heilongjiang, took part in such a competition on a TV show aired by Shandong TV. She competed with over 100 other students and won the     2     prize in the end.

Her lifelong love of reading helped her win. She is especially interested in ancient poetry. Though she is busy with schoolwork, she spares time to study     3     one poem each day. “The beautiful lines refresh my thinking and inspire me a lot. For example, I love Su Shi’s poems. His optimistic attitudes impress me,” she said.

“Once, I walked along a small path in a forest. The scenery was the same as what is     4     in the line “松间沙路竟无泥”, which comes from one of Su Shi’s poems. At that moment, the lines from his poem     5     came to my mind and I realized that poems can be part of our daily lives,” she said.

6 . 将下列单词填入空格。每空格限填一词，每词只能填一次

A. think of          B. happen            C. pay for            D. finished            E. gave

Many people dream of going on a great travel adventure. Most of us keep dreaming; others make it     1    . Gregg Beakney’s dream was to travel the Americas from top to bottom. He got the idea after he     2     a 1,600-kilometer bike ride. Gregg’s friend, Brooks Allen, was also a cyclist. The two friends talked and set their goal: they would travel from Alaska to Argentina by bike.

To     3     the journey, Gregg and Brooks worked and saved money for years. When they were on the road, they often camped outdoors or stayed in hotels. In many places along their route, local people opened their homes to the two friends and     4     them food.

A. polite             B. worry about            C. adventures             D. talk about          E. modern

During their trip, Gregg and Brooks cycled through deserts (沙漠), rain-forests and mountains. They visited     5     cities and explored ancient ruins (遗迹). In many places, they met other cyclists from all over the world. Gregg and Brooks kept a record of their     6     in an online blog. The trip taught both men a lot about travelling. Here is some of Gregg’s advice.

 Travel light. The less luggage (行李) you have, the less you’ll     7    .
 Be flexible (灵活的). Don’t plan everything. Then you’ll be more relaxed and happier, even when there are challenges along the way.
 Be     8    . As one traveller told Gregg, “Always remember that nobody wants to fight or cheat a nice guy.”

8 . Fill in the blanks with the words and phrases in the box. (用所给的单词和词组填入空格内，每空格限填一个单词或词组，每词只能填一次)

A. reasons   B. safety       C. organize   D. time     E. almost     F. make friends with

The walking school bus is a popular way of getting to school in some western countries. Do you know what a walking school bus is?

Is a walking school bus a real bus? No! The drivers are usually their parents. They     1     a group of children to walk to and from school! The children are the “bus”, their feet are the “wheels”, their eyes are the “windows” and their legs are the “engine”. Each bus walks over a set (规定的) route and travels at a set     2    . It sounds like fun, doesn’t it?

The walking school bus is popular with children for many     3    . It is a safe way to go to school. And it is a part of their daily exercise. Many children agree that it is a good way for them to keep healthy. Besides, children can learn a lot during their walking. They can learn road     4     and know more about their neighbourhoods.

At the same time, they can learn to be independent (独立的). They can meet children of other ages and     5     them.

9 . Read and choose the right words or phrases in the box to complete the passage. （从方框中选择恰当的单词或词组完成下列短文）

A. reading            B. climbed       C. time       D. lost          E. actress        F. supermarket

Tom had a busy weekend last week. On Saturday morning he went to visit his grandmother with his parents. She lived in a beautiful town. There Tom     1     the mountains with his cousin in the afternoon and they had a good time there. After dinner, they went shopping in the     2    . In the evening he saw an interesting play on TV. His favorite     3     Song Dandan is in the play. On Sunday morning Tom wanted to play football, but it rained very hard. So he had to stay at home. He wanted to play guitar, but he couldn’t find it. So he did some     4     and listened to some pop music. In the afternoon, he helped Mum do some cleaning and played chess with Dad. In the evening, he studied for the coming maths test. Then it was     5     to go to bed.

10 . Complete the following passage with the words in the box. Each word can only be used once (将下列单词或词组填入空格，每个单词或词组只能用一次)

A.example        B. In addition        C.instead          D. special   E. In all     F. choose   G. soon

Why do Chinese love numbers?

In Western countries, some people think the number 13 brings bad luck. In the past a lot of tall buildings didn’t even have a 13th floor. However, there aren’t any other numbers that are     1     in this way in the west.

There are superstitions (迷信) about some numbers in China as well. The number 4 is said to be unlucky because it sounds like the Chinese word for“death”. But that’s just one small     2     of China’s obsession (迷恋) with numbers.

When I first came here, I was surprised to see that many websites had numbers in their names instead of letters. I     3     found that this is actually a matter of convenience, as Chinese characters cannot be used for website addresses. They can only use numbers or the letters of the Roman alphabet.

In pinyin, the telecom company China Unicom is called Zhongguo Liantong. If the company used their pinyin name for their website address, it would be quite long. So     4    , they use their customer service hotline number—10010. com. This is easier to type and remember.

    5     the pronunciations of some numbers sound similar to other words in Chinese. This makes for some clever wordplay. For instance, the numbers “5-2-0” in Chinese sound similar to the pronunciation of the Chinese phrase “I love you”. Many couples     6     to get married on May 20 for this reason.

It is interesting to see how Chinese people have used numbers in so many different ways. “88” for now!