1 . Paracutin was born in Mexico in February, 1943. At the end of one week Paracutin was 500 feet high, and it is now over 9,000 feet high. Today Paracutin is asleep.

What is Paracutin? It was the first volcano(火山) in the world which was seen from its birth right up to the present day. On February 20, 1943, a peasant and his wife set out to work in their corn fields from the Mexican village of Paracutin. They were surprised to find the earth warm under their feet. Suddenly they heard noises deep in the earth and a small hole appeared in their field. In the afternoon there was a sudden loud noise and stones were thrown high in the air. The peasants ran from the field and turned to watch. They saw the birth of a volcano.

Large quantities of stone and lava(岩浆) broke out and a little hill began to form. By evening this hill was 100 feet high and hot ashes(灰烬) were falling on the village. At night the strong light of the hot lava lit up the countryside. The trees near the village were killed and the villagers had to leave their houses. When the village was destroyed, its name was given to the volcano. The news quickly reached Mexico City, far to the east. Many people came to watch the scene. The volcano grew and grew for ten years and hundreds of square miles of forest were destroyed. Then Paracutin went to sleep.

1. Paracutin was once the name of                 .

A．a peasant	B．a village
C．an old mountain	D．a Mexican

2. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A．Paracutin is not active now.

B．Paracutin is the first volcano in the world.

C．Paracutin did not exist until the early 1940s.

D．It took Paracutin 10 years to grow to its present size.

3. What was destroyed in the growing up of the volcano?

A．The little hill of stone.

B．The villagers living close by.

C．The forest and fields around Paracutin.

D．The Mexican peasant and his wife.

4. In this passage the writer is trying to                 .

A．tell us an interesting happening

B．explain a scientific theory

C．make us believe something

D．make up an interesting story

5. What can we learn about volcanoes from this passage?

A．New volcanoes may appear in places where people do not expect them to be.

B．Volcanoes are always growing.

C．Volcanoes are active from time to time.

D．New volcanoes are active for only ten years.

2 . Some people think that success is only for those with talent or those who grow up in the right family, and others believe that success mostly comes down to luck. I’m not going to say luck,talent,and circumstances don’t come into play because they do. Some people are born into the right family while others are born with great intelligence, and that’s just the reality of how life is.
However,to succeed in life,one first needs to set a goal and then gradually make it more practical.And,in addition to that,in order to get really good at something,one needs to spend at least 10,000 hours studying and practicing.To become great at certain things,it’ll require even more time,time that most people won’t put in.
This is a big reason why many successful people advise you to do something you love. If you don’t enjoy what you do ,it is going to feel like unbearable pain and will likely make you quit well before you ever become good at it.
When you see people exhibiting some great skills or having achieved great success,you know that they have put in a huge part of their life to get there at a huge cost.It’s sometimes easy to think they got lucky or they were born with some rare talent,but thinking that way does you no good,and there’s a huge chance that you’re wrong anyway.
Whatever you do,if you want to become great at it, you need to work day in and day out,almost to the point of addiction,and over a long period of time.If you’re not willing to put in the time and work,don’t expect to receive any rewards.Consistent, hard work won’t guarantee you the level of success you may want, but it will guarantee that you will become really good at whatever it is you put all that work into.
1. Paragraph 1 mainly talks about ________.

A．the reasons for success	B．the meaning of success
C．the standards of success	D．the importance of success

2. In Paragraph 2,the underlined word that refers to ______.

A．being good at something	B．setting a practical goal
C．putting in more time	D．succeeding in life

3. Successful people suggest doing what one loves because ______.

A．work makes one feel pain	B．one tends to enjoy his work
C．one gives up his work easily	D．it takes a lot of time to succeed

4. What can we infer from Paragraph 4?

A．Successful people like to show their great skills.

B．People sometimes succeed without luck or talent.

C．People need to achieve success at the cost of life.

D．It helps to think that luck or talent leads to success.

5. What is the main theme of the passage?

A．Having a goal is vital to success.

B．Being good is different from being great.

C．One cannot succeed without time and practice.

D．Luck,talent and family help to achieve success.

3 . I love charity(慈善) shops and so do lots of other people in Britain because you find quite a few of them on every high street. The charity shop is a British institution, selling everything from clothes to electric goods, all at very good prices. You can get things you won’t find in the shops anymore. The thing I like best about them is that your money is going to a good cause and not into the pockets of profit-driven companies, and you are not damaging the planet, but finding a new home for unwanted goods.

The first charity shop was opened in 1947 by Oxfam. The famous charity’s appeal to aid postwar Greece had been so successful it had been flooded with donations(捐赠物). They decided to set up a shop to sell some of these donations to raise money for that appeal. Now there are over 7,000 charity shops in the UK. My favourite charity shop in my hometown is the Red Cross shop, where I always find children’s books, all 10 or 20 pence each.

Most of the people working in the charity shops are volunteers, although there is often a manager who gets paid. Over 90% of the goods in the charity shops are donated by the public. Every morning you see bags of unwanted items outside the front of shops, although they don’t encourage this, rather ask people to bring things in when the shop is open.

The shops have very low running costs: all profits go to charity work. Charity shops raise more than ￡110 million a year, funding(资助) medical research, overseas aid, supporting sick and poor children, homeless and disabled people, and much more. What better place to spend your money? You get something special for a very good price and a good moral sense. You provide funds to a good cause and tread lightly on the environment.

1. The author loves the charity shop mainly because of       .

A．its convenient location	B．its great variety of goods
C．its spirit of goodwill	D．its nice shopping environment

2. The first charity shop in the UK was set up to       .

A．sell cheap products	B．deal with unwanted things
C．raise money for patients	D．help a foreign country

3. Which of the following is TRUE about charity shops?

A．The operating costs are very low.	B．The staff are usually well paid.
C．90% of the donations are second-hand.	D．They are open twenty-four hours a day.

4. Which of the following may be the best title for the passage?

A．What to Buy at Charity Shops.

B．Charity Shop: Its Origin & Development.

C．Charity Shop: Where You Buy to Donate.

D．The Public’s Concern about Charity Shops.

4 . Jenna, a popular girl from Westwood Middle School, had graduated first in her class and was ready for new _________ in high school.

_________, high school was different. In the first week, Jenna went to tryouts (选拔赛) for cheerleaders (拉拉队队员). She was competing against very talented girls, and she knew it would be _________ for her to be selected. Two hours later, the _________ read a list of the girls for a second tryout. Her heart _________ as the list ended without her name. Feeling _________, she walked home carrying her schoolbag full of homework.

Arriving home, she started with math. She had always been a good math student, but now she was _________. She moved on to English and history, and was _________ to find that she didn’t have any trouble with those subjects. Feeling better, she decided not to _________ math for the time being.

The next day Jenna went to see Mrs. Biden about being on the school __________. Mrs. Biden wasn’t as ____________ as Jenna. “I’m sorry, but we have enough ____________ for the newspaper already. Come back next year and we’ll talk then.” Jenna smiled ____________ and left. “Why is high school so ____________?” she sighed.

Later in ____________ class, Jenna devoted herself to figuring out the problems that had given her so much ____________. By the end of class, she understood how to get them right. As she gathered her books, Jenna decided she’d continue to try to ____________ her new school. She wasn’t sure if she’d succeed, but she knew she had to ____________. High school was just as her mom had said: “You will feel like a small fish in a big pond ____________ a big fish in a small pond. The challenge is to become the ____________ fish you can be.”

1.

A．processes

B．decisions

C．challenges

D．exercises

2.

A．Therefore

B．However

C．Otherwise

D．Besides

3.

A．difficult

B．easy

C．boring

D．interesting

4.

A．editor

B．boss

C．candidate

D．judge

5.

A．jumped

B．sank

C．stopped

D．raced

6.

A．strange

B．happy

C．awful

D．lonely

7.

A．struggling

B．improving

C．working

D．complaining

8.

A．ashamed

B．disappointed

C．shocked

D．relieved

9.

A．put up

B．prepare for

C．worry about

D．give up

10.

A．committee

B．newspaper

C．radio

D．team

11.

A．enthusiastic

B．artistic

C．sympathetic

D．realistic

12.

A．speakers

B．readers

C．cheerleaders

D．writers

13.

A．widely

B．weakly

C．excitedly

D．brightly

14.

A．similar

B．ordinary

C．different

D．familiar

15.

A．physics

B．history

C．English

D．math

16.

A．pleasure

B．hope

C．trouble

D．sorrow

17.

A．fit in

B．look out

C．stay up

D．get around

18.

A．swim

B．try

C．ask

D．escape

19.

A．in return for

B．in case of

C．in terms of

D．instead of

20.

A．slimmest

B．smallest

C．best

D．gentlest

5 . Grandparents Answer a Call

As a third－generation native of Brownsville, Texas, Mildred Garza never planned to move away.Even when her daughter and son asked her to move to San Antonio to help with their children, she politely refused.Only after a year of friendly discussion did Ms.Garza finally say yes.That was four years ago.Today all three generations regard the move as a success, giving them a closer relationship than they would have had in separate cities.

No statistics show the number of grandparents like Garza who are moving closer to adult children and grandchildren. Yet there is evidence suggesting that the trend is growing.Even President Obama’s mother-in-law, Marian Robinson, has agreed to leave Chicago and move into the White House to help care for her granddaughters. According to a study by grandparents.com, 83 percent of the people said Mrs.Robinson's decision will influence grandparents in the American family.Two－thirds believe more families will follow the example of Obama’s family.

“In the 1960s we were all a little wild and couldn't get away from home far enough or fast enough to prove we could do it on our own,”says Christine Crosby, publisher of Grand, a magazine for grandparents. “We now realize how important family is and how important it is to be near them, especially when you’re raising children.”

Moving is not for everyone. Almost every grandparent wants to be with his or her grandchildren and is willing to make sacrifices, but sometimes it is wiser to say no and visit frequently instead.Having your grandchildren far away is hard, especially knowing your adult child is struggling, but giving up the life you know may be harder.

1. Why was Garza’s move a success?

A．It strengthened her family ties.

B．It improved her living conditions.

C．It enabled her to make more friends.

D．It helped her know more new places.

2. What was the reaction of the public to Mrs.Robinson’s decision?

A．17% expressed their support for it.

B．Few people responded sympathetically.

C．83% believed it had a bad influence.

D．The majority thought it was a trend.

3. What did Crosby say about people in the 1960s?

A．They were unsure of themselves.

B．They were eager to raise more children.

C．They wanted to live away from their parents.

D．They had little respect for their grandparents.

4. What does the author suggest the grandparents do in the last paragraph?

A．Make decisions in the best interests of their own.

B．Ask their children to pay more visits to them.

C．Sacrifice for their struggling children.

D．Get to know themselves better.

6 . Speaking Up

I never looked up when my friends were talking and joking about the ratarded (智障的) boy a few tables away. It didn’t even cross my mind that he might feel _______when people whispered about him. So I just let them talk.
Then came the day when I learned my little brother Martin’s testing for autism (自闭症) came out positive (阳性). I had never thought about him like that. I broke_______, crying.
Everything had just changed. He was no longer a(n) _______little boy.
Over time, I was able to accept his _______a little more. We had to_______because Martin needed treatment. So Martin and I both started at a new school. One day, I was standing in the bus line waiting when a “ short ” bus (for the retarded) came and_______up some kids. The children in the other line started making_______about the “ retarded ” on that bus and I felt a _______feeling in my heart. I said quietly that those comments weren’t very nice, _______no one listened.
My family moved again. In the new school I got a ________ to speak up pretty soon. That day, in a band class, my teacher _________our playing to make some comments, “ …Guys, we’re playing like the kids on the short bus! Come on! ”
The entire room was laughing loudly. I felt very ________. Then, I raised my hand. I wasn’t sure what I was going to say but I wanted to be heard.
The whole class ________down. My mouth opened and this came out: “ I don’t think we should make fun of the short bus, because there are people on that bus who have a lot in common with us and have the same feelings as we do.” I could feel my________getting louder. “So I would________it if you didn’t make fun of them.”
The room was very quiet and everyone stared at me. My teacher ________for his words and then started the song again. At the end of the class, everyone was giving me strange looks. But I didn’t _________because I knew three things: I had spoken the ________, I had taught everyone something, and while everyone in the classroom was being a follower, I had ________to take a different path since I wanted to become a ________and a role model.1.

A．amazed

B．hurt

C．uncertain

D．cold

2.

A．off

B．in

C．down

D．away

3.

A．normal

B．noisy

C．outstanding

D．impressive

4.

A．pain

B．interest

C．opinion

D．illness

5.

A．change

B．move

C．quit

D．study

6.

A．set

B．took

C．brought

D．picked

7.

A．jokes

B．complaints

C．choices

D．discoveries

8.

A．violent

B．strange

C．confusing

D．clear

9.

A．because

B．if

C．but

D．so

10.

A．chance

B．position

C．topic

D．point

11.

A．encouraged

B．bothered

C．enjoyed

D．stopped

12.

A．bad

B．embarrassed

C．tense

D．guilty

13.

A．sat

B．slowed

C．quieted

D．looked

14.

A．pace

B．voice

C．pulse

D．breath

15.

A．excuse

B．appreciate

C．stand

D．permit

16.

A．apologized

B．fought

C．allowed

D．argued

17.

A．understand

B．notice

C．return

D．care

18.

A．wisdom

B．importance

C．matter

D．truth

19.

A．helped

B．decided

C．agreed

D．hoped

20.

A．reporter

B．thinker

C．leader

D．trainer

7 . Whether in the home or the workplace, social robots are going to become a lot more common in the next few years. Social robots are about to bring technology to the everyday world in a more humanized way, said Cynthia Breazeal, chief scientist at the robot company Jibo.

While household robots today do the normal housework, social robots will be much more like companions than mere tools. For example, these robots will be able to distinguish when someone is happy or sad. This allows them to respond more appropriately to the user.

The Jibo robot, arranged to ship later this year, is designed to be a personalized assistant. You can talk to the robot, ask it questions, and make requests for it to perform different tasks. The robot doesn’t just deliver general answers to questions; it responds based on what it learns about each individual in the household. It can do things such as reminding an elderly family member to take medicine or taking family photos.

Social robots are not just finding their way into the home. They have potential applications in everything from education to health care and are already finding their way into some of these spaces.

Fellow Robots is one company bringing social robots to the market. The company’s “Oshbot” robot is built to assist customers in a store, which can help the customers find items and help guide them to the product’s location in the store. It can also speak different languages and make recommendations for different items based on what the customer is shopping for.

The more interaction the robot has with humans, the more it learns. But Oshbot, like other social robots, is not intended to replace workers, but to work alongside other employees. “We have technologies to train social robots to do things not for us, but with us,” said Breazeal.

1. How are social robots different from household robots?

A．They can control their emotions.	B．They are more like humans.
C．They do the normal housework.	D．They respond to users more slowly.

2. What can a Jibo robot do according to Paragraph 3?

A．Communicate with you and perform operations.

B．Answer your questions and make requests.

C．Take your family pictures and deliver milk.

D．Obey your orders and remind you to take pills.

3. What can Oshbot work as?

A．A language teacher.	B．A tour guide.
C．A shop assistant.	D．A private nurse.

4. We can learn from the last paragraph that social robots will _______.

A．train employees	B．be our workmates
C．improve technologies	D．take the place of workers

5. What does the passage mainly present?

A．A new design idea of household robots.	B．Marketing strategies for social robots.
C．Information on household robots.	D．An introduction to social robots.

8 . In our modern world, when something wears out, we throw it away and buy a new one. The _______ is that countries around the world have growing mountains of _______ because people are throwing out more rubbish than ever before.

How did we _______ a throwaway society? First of all, it is now easier to _______ an object than to spend time and money to repair it. _______ modern manufacturing (制造业)and technology, companies are able to produce products quickly and inexpensively. Products are plentiful and _______.

Another cause is our _______of disposable (一次性的) products. As _______ people, we are always looking for _______ to save time and make our lives easier. Companies ________ thousands of different kinds of disposable products: paper plates, plastic cups, and cameras, to name a few.

Our appetite for new products also ________ to the problem. We are ________ buying new things. Advertisements persuade us that ________ is better and that we will be happier with the latest products. The result is that we ________ useful possessions to make room for new ones.

All around the world, we can see the ________ of this throwaway lifestyle. Mountains of rubbish just keep getting bigger. To ________ the amount of rubbish and to protect the ________, more governments are requiring people to recycle materials. ________, this is not enough to solve (解决) our problem.

Maybe there is another way out. We need to repair our possessions ________ throwing them away. We also need to rethink our attitudes about ________. Repairing our possessions and changing our spending habits may be the best way to reduce the amount of rubbish and take care of our environment.

1.

A．key

B．reason

C．project

D．problem

2.

A．gifts

B．rubbish

C．debt

D．products

3.

A．face

B．become

C．observe

D．change

4.

A．hide

B．control

C．replace

D．withdraw

5.

A．Thanks to

B．As to

C．Except for

D．Regardless of

6.

A．safe

B．funny

C．cheap

D．powerful

7.

A．love

B．lack

C．prevention

D．division

8.

A．sensitive

B．kind

C．brave

D．busy

9.

A．ways

B．places

C．jobs

D．friends

10.

A．donate

B．receive

C．produce

D．preserve

11.

A．adapts

B．returns

C．responds

D．contributes

12.

A．tired of

B．addicted to

C．worried about

D．ashamed for

13.

A．newer

B．stronger

C．higher

D．larger

14.

A．pick up

B．pay for

C．hold onto

D．throw away

15.

A．advantages

B．purposes

C．functions

D．consequences

16.

A．show

B．record

C．decrease

D．measure

17.

A．technology

B．environment

C．consumers

D．brands

18.

A．However

B．Otherwise

C．Therefore

D．Meanwhile

19.

A．by

B．in favour of

C．after

D．instead of

20.

A．spending

B．collecting

C．repairing

D．advertising

9 . A Welcome Gift

Dario and his mother loved their new apartment. The living room was large enough for their piano. That night, the two of them _______ side by side at the piano. They played jazz music to celebrate their new home. The loud _______ filled the room and made them feel very happy.

The next morning, _______, their happiness disappeared. Someone had left a _______ under their door during the night. One of their neighbors had written to complain about the sound of the piano. Dario’s mother asked the building superintendent(管理员) if he knew anything about it. But he said that they were all _______ people and he couldn’t imagine any of them had done that. Later that morning, Dario suggested that they write a letter to their _______ and apologize for their playing.

“Maybe we could go and _______ everyone in person.” his mother said.

“What if we invited them to come here for a _______ instead?” Dario asked.

They both loved the _______. Over the next few days, they sent out invitations and prepared desserts __________ their guests. They decorated the apartment with streamers(彩带) and party lights.

Finally, the day of the party __________. Some guests brought presents. Others brought flowers. Some even brought desserts to __________. One woman, Mrs. Gilbert, __________ Dario’s mother with a book of piano music by Chopin.

“I heard you playing the other night,” she said. “The sounds woke me out of bed. I __________ that you might play like this every night. So I wrote a short note. I hope you don’t think I disliked the playing.”

Dario’s mother smiled at Mrs. Gilbert. “I think maybe we __________ you an apology.” she said. “I didn’t __________ how late it was when we were playing. Maybe we should play some quieter music at night.”

“You play, you play!” Mrs. Gilbert said. “I like what you play! Just not so loud at night.” She pointed to the book she had given them. “These songs are not such __________ music.”

“These songs are beautiful music.” Dario’s mother said. “We will be __________ to play them in the evening.”

“And we won’t play so loud or late!” Dario said. He was already looking forward to __________ the new music. More than that, however, he was happy to see the big smile on his mother’s face. It gave him a feeling of __________ and made him feel that they were home at last.

1.

A．sat

B．stood

C．lay

D．walked

2.

A．voice

B．ring

C．music

D．cry

3.

A．therefore

B．however

C．otherwise

D．instead

4.

A．note

B．poster

C．bill

D．report

5.

A．proud

B．rich

C．lucky

D．nice

6.

A．neighbors

B．friends

C．relatives

D．audience

7.

A．blame

B．instruct

C．question

D．visit

8.

A．party

B．concert

C．show

D．play

9.

A．experience

B．idea

C．performance

D．action

10.

A．to

B．with

C．for

D．from

11.

A．continued

B．arrived

C．passed

D．finished

12.

A．order

B．sell

C．share

D．advertise

13.

A．treated

B．presented

C．helped

D．served

14.

A．promised

B．admitted

C．agreed

D．worried

15.

A．give

B．send

C．offer

D．owe

16.

A．realize

B．remember

C．understand

D．accept

17.

A．sweet

B．strange

C．funny

D．loud

18.

A．brave

B．sorry

C．happy

D．afraid

19.

A．changing

B．practicing

C．recording

D．writing

20.

A．equality

B．freedom

C．warmth

D．sympathy

10 . 完形填空（共20小题；阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D中)，选出可以填入空白处。

One evening, I was resting in a cafe. I_______a pair of newly bought white leather (皮革) shoes, which were rather expensive. Then a boy came to me.

He was in a(n)_______ shirt, looking pale and about eleven. No sooner had I begun to speak than he opened the _______in his hand and took out the tools of shoe-polishing. He _______down, took off my leather shoes, and began to shine them. He was busy doing his work_______heavy rain began to pour down. People rushed to the café for_______from the rain. More and more people crowded _______and gradually separated the boy from me.

Hours passed, and it turned _______I had no shoes on my feet and _______where the boy had been. I thought he would not ________my shoes, and I would have to go home on my bare feet.

When it was near midnight the________ended, and there were fewer and fewer people in the café.

The café was to be________ I had to move to the door, head________ just as I went to the gate, I________found that a boy of about eleven, looking very familiar, was sleeping at the ________with his head leaning against a box and his upper body being ________he held a package made of his shirt tightly in his arms. I shook him slightly and woke him up. He ________up and rubbed his eyes for a while before he recognized me. Then he opened the package________, gave me my leather shoes, and apologized to me shyly. I ________him and wrapped him with his unfit shirt, which had wrapped my leather shoes. On my way home, the________of the boy stayed in my mind.

1.

A．took

B．wore

C．mended

D．owned

2.

A．old

B．unfit

C．small

D．dirty

3.

A．bag

B．package

C．box

D．suitcase

4.

A．seated

B．bent

C．put

D．looked

5.

A．when

B．after

C．because

D．since

6.

A．protection

B．rest

C．hide

D．preparation

7.

A．out

B．away

C．in

D．off

8.

A．dark

B．light

C．dim

D．bright

9.

A．thought

B．wondered

C．guessed

D．imagined

10.

A．shine

B．keep

C．return

D．carry

11.

A．rain

B．coffee

C．time

D．work

12.

A．opened

B．locked

C．stopped

D．closed

13.

A．lowered

B．dropped

C．raised

D．held

14.

A．shortly

B．surprisedly

C．sadly

D．immediately

15.

A．table

B．door

C．bed

D．cafe

16.

A．wet

B．bare

C．pale

D．cold

17.

A．stayed

B．as

C．jumped

D．got

18.

A．finally

B．suddenly

C．unfriendly

D．hurriedly

19.

A．recognized

B．forgave

C．paid

D．inspired

20.

A．feature

B．shirt

C．image

D．form