1 . You may not know a lot of people when you start high school. Maybe your friends from middle school are going to a different high school. Even if you know other freshmen, you still feel nervous that you don’t know any upper-class men. How are you going to make friends among this sea of unknown faces?

Most high schools hold a freshman orientation before school actually starts. These are helpful not only because you learn your way around the building and get to meet some of your teachers, but you also get to meet fellow freshmen. That way, when you show up on your first day of school, you may already recognize a few familiar faces.

When you talk to people at orientation, you’ll probably find that a lot of them are feeling just like you are. They’re all new to the school and don’t know what to expect. Talking about a common concern with your classmates can help you develop friendships.

The work in high school is something freshmen are probably worried about. The work in high school builds on what you learned in middle school, giving you a more advanced knowledge of many subjects. So you may find you have more work to do or that it’s a bit more challenging. If you ever find your work too difficult, teachers can give you extra help.

High school also has more after-school activities than middle school did, such as clubs, music and theater groups and sports teams. This is a good time to explore your interests and try new things.

Middle school taught you the basis of academics, time management, and social skills while providing you with a little extra support and guidance. High school gives you the chance to learn how to be more independent and responsible.

1. According to the passage, when freshmen come to the school on the first day, they usually feel ________.

A．proud

B．frightened

C．excited

D．nervous

2. What can students do at orientation?

A．They can meet familiar faces from middle school.

B．They will attend lectures delivered by their teachers.

C．They can exchange their worries about high school.

D．They will be led to have a tour around the campus.

3. What are freshmen probably worried about?

A．The learning task.	B．The ability to make friends.
C．The training in the freshman orientation.	D．The relationship with teachers.

4. After-school activities mainly help students ________.

A．build up healthy bodies	B．develop their interests
C．develop friendships	D．improve their learning ability

5. The last paragraph is mainly about ________.

A．what you’ll learn in high school

B．what you leaned in middle school

C．the difference between middle school and high school

D．the importance of being more independent and responsible

3 . In the Hollywood movie The Martian, actor Matt Damon plays an astronaut who grows food on Mars (火星) to survive alone on the red planet.

After seeing the movie, Washington State University physicist Michael Allen and University of Idaho food scientist Helen Joyner decided to carry out a case study helping students figure out how to farm on Mars. In the case study, students had to imagine they were mining on Mars and decide how to feed themselves there before starting on the journey. They got advice from Allen and Joyner on how to select crops and take the challenges of growing crops over long periods on Mars. Students used a scoring system to select three foods to plant on Mars.

Allen found the results impressive: among 30 students, “no two people have ever gotten the same answer”, he said.

Human travelers to Mars will likely have to make use of resources on the planet rather than take everything they need with them on a spaceship. This means farming their own food on another planet, one that has a very different ecosystem (生态系统) from Earth’s.

One challenge for those who would like to live on Mars is the fact that there can be no farming tools. Like real astronauts, students taking part in the study cannot take farming tools with them. As Joyner put it to his student astronauts, “You are starting with nothing.” Besides, students also have to deal with a very limited choice of diet. “If you had to eat a single food for the rest of your life, could you do it?” Joyner asked.

But Allen believes the case study is about more than farming and eating on the Red Planet. “I’m not teaching about growing food on Mars,” Allen said, “I’m teaching about living with choices. I’m teaching about problem solving.”

1. What made Michael Allen and Helen Joyner carry out the case study?

A．A trip.

B．A book.

C．A movie.

D．A lecture.

2. In the case study, students have to ______.

A．start with everything	B．try different tools
C．watch the movie	D．select three foods

3. What might be the challenge for people living on Mars?

A．They have a limited choice of diet.	B．They have a lot of farming tools.
C．They have to take part in the study.	D．They have to select crops on Mars.

4. Michael Allen thinks that the case study teaches the students ______.

A．how to look for foods on Mars	B．to know more about Earth
C．how to solve problems	D．to learn about gardening

5. The passage is mainly about ______.

A．a research on how to farm on Mars	B．a Hollywood movie The Martian
C．how to survive alone on Earth	D．how to design a scoring system

4 . Many years ago, I was fresh out of school and working in Denver. One day, I drove to my parents’ home in Missouri for Thanksgiving Day. Suddenly, I found the gas was running out. I stopped, wondering what I was supposed to do. A car pulled up behind me and an old couple came out. They offered to pull my car to a gas station. When we said good- bye to each other. the husband gave me his business card.

When I arrived home, I wrote him and his wife a thank-you note. I soon received a note saying that helping me had made their holiday meaningful.

Years later, I drove to a nearby town for a meeting in the morning. In the late afternoon, I returned to my car and found that the battery was dead. Then I noticed that the Friendly Ford Dealership — a shop selling cars — was right next door. I walked over and found a salesman waiting beside the door.

“Would you please do me a favor?” I asked and explained my trouble. He quickly drove a pickup truck to my car and started it. He would accept no payment. When I got home, I wrote a note to thank him. I received a letter back from the salesman. He said no one had ever taken the time to write him a note of thanks and it meant a lot.

Although it is easy to say thanks to others, it means so much.

1. Why did the author drive to his parents’ home in Missouri?

A．To repair his car.	B．To see a friend.
C．For Thanksgiving Day.	D．For a meeting.

2. What happened when the author found the gas was running out?

A．An old couple helped him go to a gas station.

B．He had a word with a policeman nearby.

C．He pushed his car to a car dealership.

D．He called up his best friend for help.

3. What can we learn from Paragraph 3?

A．The author got a gas from the old couple.

B．The author’s car battery was dead.

C．The author wrote a letter to the old couple.

D．The author bought a car from the dealership.

4. When the salesman received the author’s thank-you note, he must have been ________.

A．moved

B．worried

C．nervous

D．sad

5. The main purpose of the passage is to tell us ________.

A．how to write a thank-you note	B．how to deal with car problems
C．the kind-heartedness of old people	D．the importance of expressing thanks

6 . If you ever have a chance to go to Finland, you’ll probably be surprised to find how “foolish” the Finnish people are.

Take the taxi drivers for example. You can go anywhere on a journey, tell the driver to drop you at any place, say that you have some business to attend to, and that you will pay the taxi driver later. He will agree without any anxiety but just accept your words in good faith (诚意).

The dining rooms in all big hotels not only serve their guests, but also provide outside diners. Hotel guests have their meals free, so they naturally go to the free dining rooms to have their meals, and the most they would do to show their good faith is to wave their registration card (住房卡) to the waiter. With such a loose check, you can easily use any old registration card to take a couple of friends to wine and dine free of charge.

Finnish workers are paid by the hour. If you work in Finland and have agreed with the boss on the hourly rate (费用), then you just say how many hours you have worked and they will be paid accordingly.

With so many loopholes（漏洞) in everyday life, surely Finland must be a country to those who love to take “small advantages”. But the strange thing is, all the taxi passengers would always come back to pay their fare after they have attended to their business, not a single outsider has ever been found in the free hotel dining rooms, workers always give the exact hours they put in. As the Finns always act on good faith and always have an attitude of “right is right” and “wrong is wrong” in everything they do, so living in such a society has turned everyone into a real “gentleman”.

What we regard as “foolish” is actually the Finnish people’s way of life.

1. Which of the following is TRUE about Finland according to the passage?

A．The taxi driver will be angry if you forget to pay your fare.

B．Hotels provide their guests meals for free.

C．Hotels’ dining rooms don’t serve outside dinners.

D．It is very cheap to take a taxi in Finland.

2. How are the workers in Finland paid?

A．By the hour.	B．By the day.
C．By the week.	D．By the month.

3. The fifth paragraph is mainly to tell us that the Finnish people are very ________.

A．stupid

B．clever

C．honest

D．lovely

4. The author’s attitude towards Finnish people’s way of life is that of ________.

A．doubt

B．not caring

C．worry

D．praise

5. What would be the best title for this passage?

A．Old Finnish customs

B．How to take “small advantages”

C．How to get a job in Finland

D．The “foolish” Finns

7 . Dad was not only my best friend, but my compass (指南针). While he was alive, he _________ me with his actions and advice. He taught me one important _______, “Believe in yourself.”

If there was one phrase my dad _______ liked to hear, it was “I can’t.” He never got to finish high school and took two jobs to support his large family, _______ he never complained. Through education and years of hard work, my dad became an excellent journalist.

When I was in high school, I had a _______ time with math. He tried to help me, but I _______ struggled. So my math teacher suggested I meet with him at 7:00 each morning before school for _______ help. I told Dad, “That’s crazy! I’m tired! I can’t do that!” He replied, “You are doing it. I’ll send you to school.” Every morning at 6:45, we’d leave the house. Despite working 12 hours every day, Dad never once _______ driving me to school.

After months of _______, I was facing the final exam. I was so ________. On the day of the final, my dad hugged me and said, “Luke, ________ yourself. You can do it.” His words made me realize I needed to trust in my ability and in the hours of study I’d put in. When I got my grade proudly, the first person I called was my father. He cried, “Yes! You deserved it!”

Even now, whenever I ________ that a task is too much for me, I think back to that exam. No matter how ________ something is, if you’re willing to work, you can succeed. I’m forever ________ to Dad for that lesson.

1.

A．understood

B．forgave

C．guided

D．impressed

2.

A．history

B．lesson

C．skill

D．language

3.

A．always

B．almost

C．ever

D．never

4.

A．so

B．or

C．but

D．and

5.

A．good

B．free

C．terrible

D．short

6.

A．still

B．nearly

C．hardly

D．probably

7.

A．real

B．practical

C．immediate

D．extra

8.

A．suggested

B．risked

C．enjoyed

D．missed

9.

A．meeting

B．testing

C．learning

D．interviewing

10.

A．excited

B．nervous

C．happy

D．shocked

11.

A．believe in

B．hold back

C．stand for

D．look after

12.

A．hope

B．forget

C．worry

D．promise

13.

A．different

B．hard

C．important

D．interesting

14.

A．grateful

B．sorry

C．polite

D．useful