1 . 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

2 . 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

3 . How do you learn English? Are you trying to improve your speaking? Then aim for fluency and “standard” pronunciation. Do you want to get better at writing? You should practice vocabulary and grammar.

But this way of learning, though necessary, misses one big thing: people from different places may speak English differently. For example, people from the US and the UK speak very differently. If a British friend invited me to eat lunch at his apartment, he might say: “Come over to mine round 1 p.m.” But if I invited him over, I might say: “Be at my place a little after 1 p.m.” “My place” is more commonly used in the US; “mine” is more frequently used in the UK—both are informal ways of saying “my house” or “my apartment”.

Even people in different parts of the US speak very differently. For example, imagine that you are talking to a group of people and want to address them all at once. What pronoun do you use? “You”, you should reply—that’s the correct pronoun whether you’re addressing one person or a group. But using “you” to address many people feels strange in a conversation. The most common choice around the US is to say “you guys”. But working class natives of my hometown, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, say “yinz”. In eastern Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey, some people say “youse”. In the southern US, people say “y’all”.

The point is that there’s a lot more to languages than what’s standard and proper. So take a tour around the US, y’all. Yinz will be glad that youse do it.

1. What is the passage mainly about?

A．The reason why we need to practice pronunciation.

B．How to understand the native English speakers.

C．How to practice vocabulary and grammar effectively.

D．The different ways native speakers use the language.

2. What is the informal way of saying “my house” in the UK?

A．My place.	B．Mine.
C．My apartment.	D．My flat.

3. The underlined word “address” in Paragraph 3 probably means ______.

A．write to	B．come to
C．speak to	D．turn to

4. How many examples does the author use?

A．2.	B．3.
C．4.	D．5.

5. If someone says, “It’s good seein’y’all.”, he is likely from ______.

A．the southern US	B．Pennsylvania
C．New York	D．New Jersey

4 . Audio digital (有声数字化) books are becoming more and more popular these years. One of the reasons for this is that audio digital books can be “read” in many places comfortably.

The first favourite place for many people is in bed, before going to sleep. There are nights when a person would want to do nothing but lie in bed going over what has happened in the day. Many people like to just lie in bed in the dark before they fall asleep at night. This would be the perfect time to listen to an audio digital book. If you read an ordinary book, the lights have to be turned on and you have to turn the pages with your hand. An audio book can just be listened to while a person stays comfortably in bed.

The next favourite place to listen to audio digital books would be in the kitchen. For some people kitchen work is boring. Audio digital books provide good entertainment, and people don’t need to turn pages.

An audio digital book is a favourite while a person is gardening. They can help take a person’s mind off job at hand. It can be fun and exciting to do gardening with the help of these books.

Another great place would be while exercising. It allows the mind to be free while the legs, body and arms are kept busy. This would be a great place to listen to these books.

The next favourite place would be while we are on the road to and from work on buses, trains or even on long flights. Audio digital books have become good companions and help us relaxed.

1. The second paragraph mainly tells us ______.

A．you can listen to an audio digital book comfortably at home

B．a favourite place to listen to audio digital books is in bed

C．it’s perfect time to listen to an audio digital book at noon

D．you have to keep the lights on while reading ordinary books

2. Some people like listening to audio digital books in the kitchen because ______.

A．they can sing to the music

B．it can save power

C．it can help them avoid boredom

D．the kitchen is the best place to do this

3. While exercising, a person “reads” an audio digital book so as to ______.

A．relax his mind

B．keep his body busy

C．lose weight easily

D．reduce pain quickly

4. What is the main topic of this passage?

A．What is an audio digital book?

B．How many kinds of audio digital books are there?

C．When were audio digital books invented?

D．Where do people like to “read” audio digital books?

5. Where does the passage probably come from?

A．An announcement.

B．A book review.

C．A science magazine.

D．A guidebook.

5 . One of my earliest memories was walking up to the smell of camp smoke and my mother’s hot chocolate. My parents were poor, and we lived in the countryside in Portland. Dad had two jobs and Mom was disabled, but that didn’t stop them from heading into the Cascade Mountains several times a year.

Our clothes were old and worn and our food was usually cheap and simple. However, we were always satisfied with our hot chocolate, which was made in a traditional way handed down from my grandmother to my mother.

There was no store to buy anything we needed. We just had powdered cocoa in our camp.

Mom would set the smoke-blackened coffee pot at the side of the fire and slowly warm the milk, adding chocolate and sugar, and stirring (搅拌) until the contents became thick and rich brown. The wonderful smell of chocolate filled the camp. More than once, I could remember people that we had just met hours before stepping into our camp to enjoy mother’s creation.

Once we were trapped in our tent for days because of a terrible rainstorm. Every morning I was woken up by the attractive smell of Mom’s hot chocolate.

Now, many years have passed, when we head for the mountains, I still use that worn coffee pot. And we always bring extra cups for the neighbours who will certainly turn up.

I have told my family a lot about Mom, and it seems that nothing brings back those warm memories better than sitting around the fire at night and tasting sweet hot chocolate.

1. Where did the author live when she was a child?

A．In a village.	B．In a big city.
C．In a hotel.	D．In a palace.

2. What does the underlined word “trapped” mean in Paragraph 5?

A．Saved.	B．Stuck.
C．Surrounded.	D．Suffered.

3. Which of the following can NOT describe the author’s mom?

A．Generous.	B．Friendly.
C．Disabled.	D．Serious.

4. What can we learn about the author from the passage?

A．Her parents were poor.

B．Her mom had two jobs.

C．Her mom was a boss of Coffee House.

D．Her dad stopped them from camping.

5. What could be the best title for the passage?

A．Camp Smoke

B．Mom’s Hot Chocolate

C．My Neighbours

D．Grandmother’s Creation

7 . Do you remember the name of your kindergarten teacher? I do. Her name was Mrs. White.

I don’t remember much about what we learned in her ________, but my mother once told me we used to ________ a lot. And I would ________ what I wrote and my mother would look at it and see there were so many ________. But no red corrections. And always a star. Sometimes even a “Good”! That made my heart filled with ________, but worried my mother. So one day when she met Mrs. White, she asked her why she never ________ my mistakes; why she never red-penciled in the wrong ________ of words or pointed out grammatical errors.

My mother said Mrs. White said “The children are just ________ to get excited about using words, about ________ sentences. I don’t want to dampen (减弱) that ________ with red ink. Spelling and grammar can ________. The wonder of words won’t…” And maybe she didn’t ________ it exactly like that because it was a long time ago and ________ my mother told me was just what she could remember.

Thanks to Mrs. White, I ________ up learning to use words with loving ________. I had no qualms (顾虑) about writing what I meant ________ I couldn’t quite spell it out. A thought comes into my mind that if Mrs. White had used her red pen precisely, I ________ wouldn’t be telling you about this now. I look ________ now and think she must have been a rather ________ teacher — to exercise such red-pen-restraint (不纠错) — to ________ the joy, wonder and excitement of expression.

1.

A．expression

B．school

C．class

D．home

2.

A．sing

B．write

C．draw

D．speak

3.

A．bring back

B．hand out

C．hand in

D．make up

4.

A．signatures

B．mistakes

C．words

D．stars

5.

A．regret

B．sadness

C．happiness

D．worry

6.

A．saw

B．found

C．changed

D．corrected

7.

A．meanings

B．spellings

C．use

D．place

8.

A．beginning

B．leading

C．happening

D．choosing

9.

A．reading

B．discovering

C．forming

D．hearing

10.

A．thought

B．patience

C．courage

D．excitement

11.

A．wait

B．advance

C．disappear

D．return

12.

A．accept

B．prove

C．agree

D．say

13.

A．that

B．what

C．which

D．how

14.

A．grew

B．stood

C．added

D．gave

15.

A．doubt

B．ability

C．confidence

D．opinion

16.

A．as if

B．now that

C．if only

D．even if

17.

A．hardly

B．usually

C．probably

D．actually

18.

A．back

B．round

C．up

D．out

19.

A．beautiful

B．interesting

C．unusual

D．strict

20.

A．show

B．let

C．enjoy

D．allow

9 . There are almost limitless things to do at the seaside. For an enjoyable summer day or night, some that are the most fun can be simple, inexpensive or absolutely free.

Frolic: Summer at the seaside is for as many activities as you can stand in the sand. Play frisbee (飞盘), sand volleyball or any beach-free sport. Jog or run while you feel the soft sand each step. If it’s nice and windy, go fly a kite!

Picnic: If you’re a bit lazy as you sun and relax on the beach, you can buy take-out from nearby shops. If you’re there with a big family outing, you may prefer to pack and bring baskets of your favorite foods and drinks.

Sand castles: For anyone who wishes they were still kids, building castles in the sand is fun at the seashore. If you’re feeling really creative, add fishes, frogs and whatever else your modeling skills can construct.

Explore: If there are hiking or biking trails along the shore or nearby, take an action to discover what’s around to be collected. Seashells and washed-up ocean flora (植物群) are fun to hunt, although finding a valuable diamond ring in the sand is much more satisfying.

Socialize: Meet all kinds of people. If kids are with you, they’re natural socializers, and will easily join others in games and other fun things to do together. Set up a volleyball net on the beach, and soon others will join the game.

Nothing: For some people the top activity at the seaside is inactivity. That means doing absolutely nothing. After all, you’ve come to the beach to relax on the warm sand, and nowhere in the world is there a more comfortable place for it.

1. In the first paragraph the author ________.

A．advertises a scenic spot

B．describes the beautiful seaside

C．shows visitors can do many things at the seaside

D．introduces the things that can be brought to the seaside

2. Which can best explain the underlined word “Frolic”?

A．Tips on safety.	B．Full preparation.
C．Famous players.	D．Lively and enjoyable activity.

3. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT suggested by the author?

A．Having a picnic with your family.

B．Making friends with all kinds of people.

C．Playing many kinds of games at the beach.

D．Searching for valuable jewelry in the sand.

4. According to the passage, if you do nothing at the seaside, ________.

A．you can still relax yourself

B．you might feel uncomfortable

C．you miss a chance to enjoy yourself

D．you are not advised to go to the seaside again

5. The passage is most probably taken from _______.

A．a diary

B．a report

C．a textbook

D．a guidebook