1 . The Young Scholars Program

The University of Maryland’s Young Scholars Program is a perfect summer camp for academically talented teenagers who want to earn college credits, pursue academic interests or discover college life at the University of Maryland. The program is challenging and rewarding. Students have the opportunity to show that they can be successful in a university environment.

The Activities

During three weeks of exploration, teens preview the university experience, study with students who share similar interests and communicate with the best teachers of the University of Maryland in a dynamic and challenging classroom environment. Students can have trips to nearby Washington, DC and enjoy movie nights and activities at the student union. Workshops and seminars featuring speakers in academic fields further enrich the learning experience.

The Courses

The Young Scholars Program offers college courses that are at the cutting edge of theory, thought and technology. Classes generally meet every day from Monday to Friday. The program is a great introduction to the University of Maryland. Participants can benefit from the University of Maryland’s vast resources, including libraries, computers and instructional labs.

The Rewards

Upon program completion, teens will go home with better preparations for the college experience-both academically and socially. In addition, students earn three college credits that post to the University of Maryland transcript (成绩单).

The Application

The application process includes submission (提交) of the application, high school transcript and a letter of recommendation.

Ages: 14 — 18

Mailing address: The University of Maryland College Park

For more information, call 3014057762.

1. Which is NOT true about the program according to Paragraph 1?

A．It is intended for college students.	B．It can offer college credits for teens.
C．It’s worth participating.	D．It can let teens experience college life in advance.

2. What can teens do during three weeks of the program?

A．They can learn from the best students of the University of Maryland

B．They can join the student union of the University of Maryland.

C．They can attend a meeting for academic discussion.

D．They can attend classes every day.

3. What do you need to do if you want to apply for the program?

A．preview the university environment ahead of time.

B．take a part time job in the university’s library.

C．submit high school transcript.

D．call 3014057762 to contact the university first.

2 . Travelling can be a fun way to gain life experience, but what if you’re a student and don’t have enough money for a trip? Don’t worry. Here are some useful tips.

Save: This probably is the most important preparation for travelling. Cut expenses (花费) to fatten your wallet so you’ll have more choices about where to go and how to get there.

Plan ahead: Don’t wait until the last minute to plan your trip. Giving yourself several months to get ready can mean security and savings.

Do your homework: No matter where you go, research the places you will visit. Decide what to see. Travel books will provide information on the cheapest hotels and restaurants.

Plan sensibly: Write down how much you expect to spend on food and hotels. Stick to (坚持) your plan, or you may not have enough money to cover everything.

Travel in groups: Find someone who is interested in visiting the same places. By travelling with others you can share costs and experiences.

Work as you go: Need more money to support your trip? Look for work in the places you visit.

Go off the beaten path: Tourist cities may be expensive. You may want to rethink about your trip and go to a less known area. Smaller towns can have many interesting activities (活动) and sights.

Pack necessary things: The most important things to take are not always clothes. Remember to take along medicine in case you get sick and snacks in case you cannot find a cheap restaurant.

By planning sensibly, even students can enjoy their travel. Your travel experiences will be remembered for a lifetime.

1. Before your trip, the first thing you should do is________.

A．to make a plan of the route

B．to get information on the Internet

C．to save money by spending less

D．to buy tickets ahead of time

2. The writer advises you________.

A．not to share costs with other people

B．not to go to well-known places

C．not to visit dangerous places

D．to buy anything you want to buy

3. During your trip, ________.

A．you need more medicine than clothes

B．you should look for work all the way

C．you should remember to do your homework

D．you can gain valuable life experience

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

A．How to Plan Your Travel Wisely

B．Travel Can Be Great Fun

C．Different Kinds of Travel

D．How to Save Money

3 . For a long time Gabriel didn’t want to be involved in music at all. In his first years of high school, Gabriel would look pityingly at music students, struggling across the campus with their heavy instrument cases, turning up at school for practice hours _____ anyone else had to be there. He swore to himself to_____music, as he hated getting to school extra early.

_____, one day, in the music class that was _____of his school’s standard curriculum, he was playing idly (随意地) on the piano and found it _____to pick out tunes. With a sinking feeling, he realized that he actually _____doing it. He tried to hide his obvious pleasure from the music teacher, who had _____over to listen. He might not have done this particularly well, _____ the teacher told Gabriel that he had a good _____ and suggested that Gabriel go into the music storeroom to see if any of the instruments there ______ him. There he decided to give the cello (大提琴) a ______. When he began practicing, he took it very ______. But he quickly found that he loved playing this instrument, and was committed to practicing it so that within a couple of months he was playing reasonably well.

This meant, of course, that he arrived at school early in the morning, ______ his heavy instrument case across the campus to the ______looks of the nonmusicians he had left______.

1.

A．before

B．after

C．until

D．since

2.

A．betray

B．accept

C．avoid

D．appreciate

3.

A．Therefore

B．However

C．Thus

D．Moreover

4.

A．part

B．nature

C．basis

D．spirit

5.

A．complicated

B．safe

C．confusing

D．easy

6.

A．missed

B．disliked

C．enjoyed

D．denied

7.

A．run

B．jogged

C．jumped

D．wandered

8.

A．because

B．but

C．though

D．so

9.

A．ear

B．taste

C．heart

D．voice

10.

A．occurred to

B．took to

C．appealed to

D．held to

11.

A．change

B．chance

C．mission

D．function

12.

A．seriously

B．proudly

C．casually

D．naturally

13.

A．pushing

B．dragging

C．lifting

D．rushing

14.

A．admiring

B．pitying

C．annoying

D．teasing

15.

A．over

B．aside

C．behind

D．out

4 . Many language learners think their pronunciation is good enough because their teacher doesn’t correct them too often or because other students can ____ them.  

Pronunciation is the area which is ____ the least attention to in language learning. Working on each student’s pronunciation in class is just ____. Also the students who are ____ at pronunciation may be afraid that it will embarrass their classmates if they help ____ their mistakes.  

If you believe your pronunciation is good enough to ____ because it is good enough for your teacher and other students. You may be ____ when you actually go to a foreign country. One of my friends was the best student in his ____ class in Poland. When he went to America he found Americans didn’t understand what he said.  

Your pronunciation may still be quite different from that of a native speaker. If this is the ____, other people will find it ____ to understand what you’re saying and will not be comfortable with you. ____, don’t think you can communicate in a foreign language until you’ve tested your skills on real native speakers. ____ for native or near native pronunciation so that people you talk to can communicate with you ____. In order to achieve this goal there’s ____ that you will need to start thinking about pronunciation and ____ time on it.

1.

A．mistake

B．watch

C．surround

D．understand

2.

A．fixed

B．drawn

C．paid

D．called

3.

A．fantastic

B．impossible

C．necessary

D．important

4.

A．poor

B．well

C．good

D．strict

5.

A．find out

B．work out

C．try out

D．point out

6.

A．communicate

B．travel

C．pronounce

D．exchange

7.

A．happy

B．disappointed

C．surprised

D．excited

8.

A．Polish

B．French

C．German

D．English

9.

A．same

B．case

C．matter

D．fact

10.

A．easy

B．beneficial

C．convenient

D．hard

11.

A．In conclusion

B．In a word

C．On the contrary

D．In short

12.

A．Stand

B．Look

C．Aim

D．Account

13.

A．smoothly

B．difficultly

C．truly

D．practically

14.

A．no way

B．no doubt

C．no need

D．no wonder

15.

A．take

B．spend

C．cost

D．kill

6 . One of my wonderful memories is about a Christmas gift. Unlike other gifts, it came without wrap (包装).

On September 11th, 1958, Mum gave birth to Richard. After she brought him home from hospital, she put him in my lap, saying, “I promised you a gift, and here it is.” What an honour! I turned four a month earlier and none of my friends had such a baby doll of their own. I played with it day and night. I sang to it. I told it stories. I told it over and over how much I loved it!

One morning, however, I found its bed empty. My doll was gone! I cried for it.Mum wept and told me that the poor little thing had been sent to a hospital. It had a fever. For several days, I heard Mum and Dad whispering such words as “hopeless”, “pitiful”, and “dying”, which sounded ominous.

Christmas was coming. “Don’t expect any presents this year,” Dad said, pointing at the socks I hung in the living room.“If your baby brother lives, that’ll be Christmas enough.” As he spoke, his eyes filled with tears. I’d never seen him cry before.

The phone rang early on Christmas morning. Dad jumped out of bed to answer it. From my bedroom I heard him say, “What? He’s all right?” He hung up and shouted upstairs. “The hospital said we can bring Richard home!”

“Thank God!” I heard Mum cry.

From the upstairs window, I watched my parents rush out to the car. I had never seen them so happy. And I was also full of joy. What a wonderful day! My baby doll would be home. I ran downstairs. My socks still hung there flat. But I knew they were not empty; they were filled with love!

1. What happened to the author on September 11th, 1958?

A．He got a baby brother.

B．He got a Christmas gift.

C．He became four years old.

D．He received a doll.

2. What does the underlined word “ominous” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Impossible.	B．Boring.
C．Difficult.	D．Fearful.

3. Which word can best describe the feeling of the father when Christmas was coming?

A．Excitement.	B．Happiness.
C．Sadness.	D．Disappointment.

4. What is the passage mainly about?

A．A sad Christmas day.

B．Life with a lovely baby.

C．A special Christmas gift.

D．Memories of a happy family.

8 . My wife and I moved into our home two years ago. We had a yard with a lot of ________. Very often when we have flowers, Denise or I would plant some between the rocks, just to add some ________ to the area.

Last summer, I found a tiny little plant in the yard that I could not immediately identify. I knew I didn’t plant it and Denise said she didn’t either.

We decided to let it ________ growing until we could find out what it was.

Weeks passed and as I made my way back to the ________ plant, it appeared to be a sunflower. I decided to ________ the weeds (杂草) around it. As I pulled rocks from the area to get to the weeds, I noticed something ________.The sunflower had not ________ where I saw it begin. It actually had begun under a big rock and grown under and around it to reach the ________.

That’s when I ________ that if a tiny little sunflower didn’t let a big rock stand in its way of developing, we too have the ability of doing the same thing. If we ________ ourselves like that little sunflower, we can reach where we ________ to go and get what we need for growth.

We need to believe in ourselves knowing we have the ________ to achieve our goals. Like the sunflower, it knew it had the ability to get over the rocks because it had ________ in itself that it would succeed. Stand tall like the sunflower and be ________ of who and what we are, and then the environment will begin to ________ us. We will find a way to go under or around any “rocks” in order to reach our goals.

1.

A．flower

B．insects

C．vegetables

D．rocks

2.

A．water

B．fertilizer

C．color

D．shape

3.

A．stop

B．continue

C．improve

D．escape

4.

A．weak

B．strange

C．lonely

D．pretty

5.

A．collect

B．tend

C．remove

D．watch

6.

A．unusual

B．wonderful

C．terrible

D．valuable

7.

A．passed

B．started

C．left

D．died

8.

A．air

B．top

C．sun

D．house

9.

A．hoped

B．realized

C．doubted

D．regretted

10.

A．fill in

B．put in

C．worry about

D．believe in

11.

A．forget

B．hate

C．aim

D．wait

12.

A．wish

B．plan

C．ability

D．idea

13.

A．faith

B．energy

C．virtue

D．courage

14.

A．aware

B．afraid

C．proud

D．tired

15.

A．forgive

B．support

C．upset

D．affect

10 . Two of the saddest words in the English language are “if only”. I live my life with the goal of never having to say those words, because they express regret, lost opportunities, mistakes, and disappointment.

My father is famous in our family for saying, “Take the extra minute to do it right.” I always try to live by the “extra minute” rule. When my children were young and likely to cause accidents, I always thought about what I could do to avoid an “if only” moment, whether it was something minor like moving a cup full of hot coffee away from the edge of a counter, or something that required a little more work such as taping padding (衬垫) onto the sharp comers of a glass coffee table.

I don’t only avoid (避免) those “if only” moments when it comes to safety. it’s equally important to avoid “if only” in our personal relationships. We all know people who lost a loved one and regretted that they had foregone an opportunity to say, “I love you” or “I forgive you.” When my father announced he was going to the eye doctor across from my office on Good Friday, I told him that it was a holiday for my company and I wouldn’t be here. But then I thought about the fact that he’s 84 years old and I realized that I shouldn’t give up an opportunity to see him. I called him and told him I had decided to go to work on my day off after all.

I know there will still be occasions when I have to say “if only” about something, but my life is definitely better because of my policy of doing everything possible to avoid that eventuality (可能发生的事). And even though it takes an extra minute to do something right, or it occasionally takes an hour or two in my busy schedule to make a personal connection, I know that I’m doing the right thing. I’m buying myself peace of mind and that’s the best kind of insurance (保障) for my emotional well-being.

1. Which of the following is an example of the “extra minute” rule?

A．Start the car the moment everyone is seated.

B．Leave the room for a minute with the iron working.

C．Wait for an extra minute so that the steak tastes better.

D．Move an object out of the way before it trips (绊倒) someone.

2. Why did the author decide to go to her office on Good Friday?

A．To keep her appointment with the eye doctor.

B．To meet her father who was already an old man.

C．To join in the holiday celebration of the company.

D．To finish her work before the deadline approached.

3. Which word(s) can best replace the underlined word “foregone” in Paragraph 3?

A．given up.

B．Lacked.

C．Avoided.

D．Wasted.

4. What is the best title for the passage?

A．The Emotional Well-being	B．The Two Saddest Words
C．The Most Useful Rule	D．The Peace of Mind