1 . One day Kavya and I were playing tennis and the ball went into a man’s house. Then we went to his house and asked if he could give us our ball. He said, “No”. We felt helpless. But suddenly we came up with an idea. There was a water tank (水箱) behind the man’s house. I told Kavya, “We can climb onto the water tank and jump over the gate.” Kavya agreed, but we were both wearing skirts. We couldn’t climb in those. “We can get it back tomorrow，” said Kavya.

The next day we went there with Kavya’s brother Vijay. He said, “Shout loudly if you need me.” Kavya climbed onto the water tank first and then she climbed down into the man’s house. I followed her. We were looking under a bed for the ball when we heard a noise. It was Vijay. “Mother is calling you，” he said in a low voice.

We hurried out taking the lost ball with us. Along with the ball was a surprise! But we had to leave the house quickly. When we reached Kavya’s house, the TV was on. It was news time. I couldn’t believe my ears when it said that 20 gold bars were stolen from a gold shop. They showed a picture of the gold bars, which were exactly like the one we had seen in the man’s house.

We told the story to Kavya’s mother right away, and she called the police. Soon the police caught the man. They found all the gold bars in his house. A few days later a policeman came to us and said, “Thank you for helping us catch the guy. Here is a bag for all of you.” When we opened it, it was full of storybooks and lovely toys. Standing beside us, Kavya’s mother was all smiles.

1. The children decided to climb over the water tank ________.

A．after they were refused by the man

B．because their ball fell onto the tank

C．to see who was brave enough to do that

D．because they wondered who the man was

2. The surprise mentioned in Paragraph 3 refers to ________.

A．a tennis ball	B．storybooks
C．a gold bar	D．toys

3. We can infer from the text that Kavya’s mother ________.

A．hated watching TV

B．enjoyed playing tennis

C．knew the man very well

D．was proud of her daughter

4. What can we learn from the story?

A．Better late than never.

B．The day has eyes, the night has ears.

C．A bad thing never dies.

D．Friendship is love with understanding.

2 . It took multiple weddings for Christine Law to realize what she needed to do. In the summer of 2014, her schedule was packed with friends, marriage celebrations—flowers --- filled occasions that got her thinking, “Where do all the flowers go after the party?” More often than not, they were thrown out. Law, then 27, was confident she could find a better use for them.

By August, she had a plan: convince couples and companies hosting events to donate their flowers, which she would pick up and deliver within 48 hours to seniors across the city. She wanted to bring beauty into the lives of the elderly. She drew on her experience volunteering with non-profits in order to set up her own organization, which she called Floranthropie. Not having enough bouquets (花束) for all 150 people of a health center, Law asked the staff to provide a list of patients who needed cheering up most, “The first woman I approached thought it was a mistake, and that the flowers couldn’t possibly be for her,” says Law. “I said they were a gift, and we talked for a half hour.”

In addition to health centers, Floranthropie focuses on community groups devoted to the elderly. Theleme is a volunteer for Les Petits Fieres, an organization that aims to help the elderly who don’t have a support system. The group receives a dozen or so bouquets from Floranthropie monthly, and then redistributes them. “Our motto is ‘flowers before bread,” says Theleme. “We don’t focus on primary care, but rather on nourishing (滋养) the spirit. Floranthropie helps that. It’s amazing what a big difference a small bouquet can make.”

In the beginning, most of Floranthropie’s donations came through word of mouth. These days, Law receives messages from strangers via her organization’s Facebook page and has connected with corporations and flower wholesalers. Law hopes to expand Floranthropie nationally, but at this point is happy to be able to oversee each delivery personally.

1. What made Christine Law set up Floranthropie?

A．The Waste of flowers.	B．The loneliness of seniors.
C．The persuasion of other friends.	D．The warm atmosphere of weddings.

2. What was the woman’s first reaction to Christine Law’s flowers?

A．She was moved.	B．She was excited.
C．She was worried.	D．She was surprised.

3. What can we infer about Floranthropie from Laetitia Theleme’s words?

A．It should focus on primary care.

B．It is benefiting more than the elderly.

C．It is doing something of great importance.

D．It should cooperate with more non-profits.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Volunteer Your Time	B．Don’t Throw Them Out
C．Special Delivery Makes Your Day	D．Brighten Seniors’ Lives With Flowers

3 . Many years ago, Dad worked as a farmhand （农场工人）. At that time, he had a horse. Every Saturday he________to the town after dinner and spent a few hours on social________ with other farmhands, such as drinking, chatting, and playing cards in the café. On Saturday evenings, the café was ________ because many farmhands were there. Before midnight Dad returned home on his horse, quite satisfied with his________. In his words, he________ thought of changing his job.

At the age of 31, Dad married my mother who was a schoolteacher. In the following spring I came________ into the world. Life became hard, so my mother felt________. She told Dad that they must make a ________.

My mother had ________of how some famous persons, especially Thomas Edison who was born in a poor family, fought against fate and achieved greatness and ________. And she ________ that I would some day become a great leader ________ men or cities and Dad should be a successful businessman. So she ________Dad to give up his job as a farmhand, sell his horse and ________a small business of his own. And I went to high school and college. She even sent me abroad for ________ education when I graduated from college. Under the drive of my mother's hope, Dad and I________what we have today. Dad runs a big international ________and I am a successful lawyer ________great fame in my country, ________not a leader as my mother expected.

Dad said, without my mother, we wouldn't be what we are today; at least, he would remain a farmhand. ________ he got a lesson of life —sometimes we really need drive from outside.

1.

A．rode

B．walked

C．ran

D．drove

2.

A．conversations

B．games

C．relationships

D．activities

3.

A．cold

B．crowded

C．quiet

D．dirty

4.

A．horse

B．entertainment

C．life

D．beer

5.

A．often

B．ever

C．never

D．sometimes

6.

A．laughing

B．singing

C．sleeping

D．crying

7.

A．unimportant

B．busy

C．unsatisfied

D．tired

8.

A．living

B．change

C．decision

D．house

9.

A．dreamed

B．heard

C．thought

D．spoken

10.

A．honesty

B．money

C．fame

D．energy

11.

A．cared

B．knew

C．forgot

D．hoped

12.

A．training

B．ruling

C．helping

D．protecting

13.

A．warned

B．wanted

C．allowed

D．persuaded

14.

A．start

B．find

C．design

D．sell

15.

A．farther

B．higher

C．easier

D．closer

16.

A．showed

B．kept

C．lost

D．achieved

17.

A．company

B．school

C．farm

D．café

18.

A．suffering

B．sharing

C．enjoying

D．following

19.

A．though

B．if

C．and

D．since

20.

A．So

B．However

C．Or

D．Because

4 . After work one day, I grabbed a pizza for dinner at the mall. As I was heading home, I saw a girl sitting in a corner of the mall. Her hair covered her face and her body was_______. I determined to walk past her_________that’s what we often do. But something made me turn_________. I learned her age, and why she begged for money and lived on the streets. Her parents_______years ago and she suffered from a serious skin disease. She was_______to work because of her disability and had to live in the safest place she could_______. She had stayed in shelters in the past, but was treated_______. She had to seek shelter from the mall to keep_________on cold days, but even the mall she said wasn’t_________because security(保安) always threw her out.

I’m one of those people who used to believe there was a system of ________ to help her. Ideally, I would like to believe in that. I used to think maybe one day I would________“them”. Maybe one day I would win the lottery(彩票). But when I________that girl, I thought to my self, what if no one ever helped her? What if this so called________system that I believed in didn’t even know or ________her existence? What if I didn’t ________any money? What if she was not going to be around long enough to __________that “one day”?

I didn’t really think about what happened next. I ________my dinner with her and gave her all the money I had. When security came, I talked them into assisting her ________driving her away like they usually did.

Don’t ________one day to come before you help someone. Now is that one day—not tomorrow, not next week. If you can do something to ease someone else’s ________, don’t wait for that distant one day. Be the one day. Be it now.

1.

A．hot

B．heavy

C．weak

D．wet

2.

A．if

B．when

C．till

D．because

3.

A．over

B．back

C．away

D．up

4.

A．returned

B．removed

C．quarreled

D．died

5.

A．eager

B．ready

C．unable

D．curious

6.

A．build

B．discover

C．expect

D．remember

7.

A．terribly

B．normally

C．carefully

D．patiently

8.

A．calm

B．wealthy

C．warm

D．secret

9.

A．quiet

B．special

C．particular

D．safe

10.

A．control

B．support

C．decoration

D．communication

11.

A．respect

B．watch

C．help

D．encourage

12.

A．accepted

B．introduced

C．persuaded

D．noticed

13.

A．foolish

B．perfect

C．simple

D．educational

14.

A．care about

B．talk about

C．write about

D．argue about

15.

A．lose

B．lend

C．win

D．waste

16.

A．admit

B．imagine

C．choose

D．see

17.

A．cooked

B．shared

C．ordered

D．prepared

18.

A．along with

B．as for

C．except for

D．instead of

19.

A．worry about

B．laugh at

C．wait for

D．begin with

20.

A．sickness

B．suffering

C．nervousness

D．loneliness

5 . As a teacher we all have those memories of students—we wonder if we were able to teach or reach those students who had a need to get out of their seats every five minutes or so.

I recently received an e-mail from one such student, Paco, Paco’s e-mail brought back memories of one particular class:

It was our high school’s first year of block scheduling our classes were 80 minutes long instead of the traditional 40 minutes. On this particular day, I was being observed by two college professors. Of course, I was proud of the fact that the class was conducted entirely in Spanish and the students felt comfortable expressing themselves in Spanish.

On that day, Paco came running through the door with a toasted cheese sandwich in hand. “ Senora Mike. I’m hungry and I hope you don’t mind if I just quickly eat this great toasted cheese sandwich. ” I said, “Go ahead, Paco. ” Paco sat down and finished his sandwich, Paco had now noticed our two visitors. Of course, our two visitors noticed Paco the minute he ran through the door.

The lesson was going along quite well, and all the students were working in their groups. Suddenly, Paco raised his hand and said, “Senora, esta lloviendo en mis pantalones. ”(“Mrs. M. it is raining in my pants. ”) Now, being Paco’s Spanish teacher, I understood what he wanted. I knew that it was his way of requesting to go to the bathroom. You could just imagine the laughter from the other students.

I always wonder just how much Spanish Paco learned in that class, but I know he learned more than just Spanish based on an e-mail he recently wrote to me:

I know I was a handful but you actually cared. You knew I had potential. So even though I messed up a lot, you never gate up…I’m deeply grateful to you Senora, everything you taught me about Spanish. My attitude and life will stick with me the rest of my day…

You see，Paco was my student ten years ago.

1. What do we learn about Paco?

A．He did well in his lessons.

B．He didn’t behave well enough.

C．He didn’t see the two professors.

D．He showed no respect for his teacher.

2. Why did Paco raise his hand in class?

A．To attract attention.

B．To make a request.

C．To answer a question.

D．To give a suggestion.

3. Why did Paco write an e-mail to the author?

A．To make an apology.

B．To ask for some.

C．To express his thanks.

D．To make some comments.

4. What does the author intend to tell us by writing the text?

A．How to teach a successful lesson.

B．How to get on well with students.

C．A teacher’s influence on students.

D．Students’ attitude to their teachers.

6 . The room in the workhouse where the boys were fed was a large stone hall, and at one end the master and two women served the food. This ________ a bowl of thin soup three times a day, with a piece of bread on Sundays. The boys ate ________ and were always hungry. The bowls never needed ________. The boys polished them with their spoons until they ________. After three months of this slow starvation, one of the boys told the others that so hungry was he ________ one night he might eat the ________ sleeping next to him. He had a wild ________ eye, and the other boys ________ him. After a long ________, they decided that one of them should ask for more food after supper that evening, and Oliver was ________.

The evening arrived; the soup was served, and the bowls were ________ again in a few seconds. Oliver went up to the master, with his bowl in his hand. He felt very ________, but also ________ with hunger.

“Please, sir, I want some more.”

The master was a fat, healthy man, but he turned very pale. He looked at the little boy in front of him with ________. Nobody else spoke.

“What?” he asked at last, in a ________ voice.

“Please, sir,” replied Oliver, “I want some more.”

The master ________ him with the serving spoon, then seized Oliver’s arms and ________ for the beadle (执事). The beadle came quickly, heard the terrible news, and immediately ran to tell the board.

“He asked for me?” Mr Limbkins, the fattest board member, asked in ________. “Is this really true?”

_____, Oliver was led away to be locked up, and a(n) ________ of five pounds was offered to anybody who would take him away and use him for work.

1.

A．belonged to

B．accounted for

C．consisted of

D．turned to

2.

A．everything

B．anything

C．nothing

D．something

3.

A．cleaning

B．buying

C．changing

D．washing

4.

A．finished

B．shone

C．slept

D．starved

5.

A．that

B．until

C．when

D．before

6.

A．master

B．boy

C．bowls

D．spoons

7.

A．big

B．angry

C．hungry

D．bad

8.

A．believed

B．hated

C．feared

D．trusted

9.

A．quarrel

B．bargain

C．argument

D．discussion

10.

A．chosen

B．determined

C．elected

D．recognized

11.

A．available

B．empty

C．full

D．broken

12.

A．frightened

B．shy

C．brave

D．worried

13.

A．pleased

B．hopeful

C．exhausted

D．desperate

14.

A．amusement

B．amazement

C．intension

D．appreciation

15.

A．calm

B．clear

C．faint

D．cautious

16.

A．treated

B．greeted

C．hit

D．warned

17.

A．sent

B．shouted

C．asked

D．begged

18.

A．curiosity

B．frustration

C．sadness

D．horror

19.

A．Therefore

B．However

C．Besides

D．Eventually

20.

A．punishment

B．reward

C．award

D．praise

7 . Most children have ever heard their parents yell “sit up straight!” or “don’t hang your head !” when they eat dinner. Nowadays, it is also heard around another activity — video games. Ten-year-old Owaish admits it takes him three to four hours a day to play games on his tablet computer. In addition, he plays for about two hours on the smart phone every day. As a result, he started suffering a serious pain in the neck around June or July. What’s worse the pain has spread to the hand and back gradually, which makes his mother Mehzabin become concerned.
The doctors note the number of young children with the chronic pain(慢性病) in their necks, arms and shoulders is on the increase sharp in recent years . They are not aging, they haven’t had an accident, the blood reports are fine, their X-rays are fine, and their MRIs are fine. Facts have proved that the pain is from the poor posture(姿势) while they are playing video games on smart phones or other electronic devices. 19-year –old student Nida feels pain in the finger which holds the weight of her smart phone most of the day. Nida almost uses her smart phone 24/7, which means 24 hours a day, seven days a week, or all the time.
Health experts predict there will be not only physical（身体的）but mental(精神的) problems resulting from the overuse of electronic devices. They encourage people to often take breaks and exercise from using computers, smart phones or other devices. Stand up! Stretch(伸展) the legs, back, shoulders and arms in all the possible directions. That’s the most effective way and maybe the key to solving the problem completely. After all, the medication doesn’t help sometimes.
1. What is Mehzabin worried about?

A．Her son has no table manners.

B．Her son’s physical problems get worse.

C．Her son doesn’t work hard at school.

D．Her son spends much money on games.

2. What do we know about the chronic pain?

A．Using a heavy smart phone will cause it.

B．Adults don’t have the problem.

C．It is caused by the wrong body position

D．Children with it often have other diseases.

3. According to health experts, _______.

A．best treatment for the chronic pain is exercising

B．people must take medicine to cure the chronic pain

C．people should stop using smart phones

D．the chronic pain has nothing to do with one’s mental health

4. What may be the best title for the text?

A．To Play Games Well, Sit Up Straight

B．Too Much Gaming Is A Pain In The Neck

C．How To Avoid The Pain In The Neck

D．How To Be More Fit By Playing Games

8 . In Canada and the United States, there is a new group of children called “satellite kids”, who live in one place but whose parents live in another place.

Asians are immigrating to Canada and the United States in larger numbers than ever before.Most Asians immigrate because they believe that they can give their children a better education in the West. In Asia, especially in China, Japan, and Korea, it is difficult to go to university.Students must first pass the strict national examination. However, in Canada and the United States, it is easy to go to university, and anyone who wants to go can go. As a result, Asian parents decide to leave their countries so that their children can go to university.

The problem is that when Asians arrive, they discover that finding a job and making money are more difficult in the West than in the East. Also, they find that they are very lonely, and that they miss their homes.Because of these two reasons, most Asian parents decide to go back to work while their children study in the West. Therefore, these children become “satellite kids”, and most of their parents do not know how sad it is to be a “satellite kid”.

Only until now are Canadians and Americans discovering the “satellite kid” problem. Because these children do not speak English and because their parents are not there to take care of them, they are often absent from school.To be a “satellite kid” means to grow up in a country where you know you are different and where you cannot make friends because you do not speak English well. Also, it means to grow up lonely, because your parents are elsewhere.What these “ satellite kids” will probably say to their parents is that it’s better to have parents around than to have a university education.

1. Some Asian parents send their kids abroad because ________________.

A．they hope their children may easily find a job there

B．the kids may not be accepted by universities in their own countries

C．all foreign universities are better than the ones in their own countries

D．the kids want to improve their English and make foreign friends

2. “Satellite kids” refer to the Asian kids ________.

A．without parents

B．living abroad alone

C．with university education

D．not speaking English

3. Some Asian immigrant children become “satellite kids” because their parents ________.

A．want to leave their own country

B．want them to go to university

C．return to their countries to work

D．want them to be independent

4. What is the main idea of the passage？

A．Parents want a better education for their kids.

B．Parents feel lonely and miss their families.

C．Canadians and Americans begin to notice the “satellite kids” problem.

D．Kids in foreign countries alone are badly in need of care from families.

9 . Everyone in business has been told that success is all about attracting and retaining (留住) customers. It sounds simple and achievable. But,_______, words of wisdom are soon forgotten. Once companies have attracted customers they often_______the second half of the story. In the excitement of beating off the competition, negotiating prices, securing orders, and delivering the product, managers tend to become carried away. They forget what they regard as the boring side of business—_______that the customer remains a customer._______to concentrate on retaining as well as attracting customers costs business huge amounts of money annually. It has been estimated that the average company loses between 10 and 30 per cent of its customers every years. In constantly changing_______, this is not surprising. What is surprising is the fact that few companies have any idea how many customers they have lost.

Only now are organizations beginning to wake up to those lost opportunities and calculate the_______implications. Cutting down the number of customers a company loses can make a big_______in its performance. Research in the US found that a five per cent decrease in the number of defecting (流失的) customers led to_______increases of between 25 and 85 per cent.

In the US, Domino’s Pizza estimates that a regular customer is worth more than $5,000 over ten years. A customer who receives a poor quality product or service on their first visit and_______never returns, is losing the company thousands of dollars in__________profits (more if you consider how many people they are likely to tell about their bad experience).

The logic behind cultivating customer__________is impossible to deny. “In practice most companies’ marketing effort is focused on getting customers, with little attention paid to__________them”, says Adrian Payne of Cornfield University’ School of Management. “Research suggests that there is a close relationship between retaining customers and making profits.__________customers tend to buy more, are predictable and usually cost less to service than new customers. Furthermore, they tend to be less price__________, and may provide free word-of-mouth advertising. Retaining customers also makes it__________for competitors to enter a market or increase their share of a market.

1.

A．in particular

B．in reality

C．at least

D．first of all

2.

A．emphasize

B．doubt

C．overlook

D．believe

3.

A．denying

B．ensuring

C．arguing

D．proving

4.

A．Moving

B．Hoping

C．Starting

D．Failing

5.

A．markets

B．tastes

C．prices

D．expenses

6.

A．culture

B．social

C．financial

D．economical

7.

A．promise

B．plan

C．mistake

D．difference

8.

A．cost

B．opportunity

C．profit

D．budget

9.

A．as a result

B．on the whole

C．in conclusion

D．on the contrary

10.

A．huge

B．potential

C．extra

D．reasonable

11.

A．beliefs

B．loyalty

C．habits

D．interest

12.

A．altering

B．understanding

C．keeping

D．attracting

13.

A．Assumed

B．Respected

C．Established

D．Unexpected

14.

A．agreeable

B．flexible

C．friendly

D．sensitive

15.

A．unfair

B．difficult

C．essential

D．convenient

10 . Across Britain, burnt toast will be served to mothers in bed this morning as older sons and daughters rush to deliver their supermarket bunches of flowers. But, according to a new study, we should be placing a higher value on motherhood all year.

Mothers have long known that their home workload was just as heavy as paid work. Now, the new study has shown that if they were paid for their parental labours, they would earn as much as $ 172,000 a year.

The study looked at the range of jobs mothers do, as well as the hours they are working, to determine the figure. This would make their yearly income $ 30,000 more than the Prime Minister earns.

By analysing the numbers, it found the average mother works 119 hours a week, 40 of which would usually be paid at a standard rate and 79 hours as overtime. After questioning 1,000 mothers with children under 18, it found that, on most days, mums started their routine work at 7am and finished at around 11pm.

To calculate just how much mothers would earn from that labour, it suggested some of the roles that mums could take on, including housekeeper, part-time lawyer, personal trainer and entertainer. Being a part-time lawyer, at £ 48.98 an hour, would prove to be the most profitable of the “mum jobs”, with psychologist (心理学家) a close second.

It also asked mothers about the challenges they face, with 80 percent making emotional demand as the hardest thing about motherhood.

Over a third of .mums felt they needed more training and around half said they missed going out with friends.

The study shows mothers matter all year long and not just on Mother’s Day. The emotional, physical and mental energy mothers devote to their, children can be never-ending, but children are also sources of great joy and happiness. Investing (投入) in time for parenting and raising relationships is money well spent.

1. How much would a mother earn a year if working as the Prime Minister?

A．£ 30,000.	B．£ 142,000.
C．£ 172,000.	D．£ 202,000.

2. The biggest challenge for most mothers is from       .

A．emotional demand	B．low pay for work
C．heavy workload	D．lack of training

3. What is stressed in the last paragraph?

A．Mothers’ importance shows in family all year long.

B．The sacrifices mothers make are huge but worthwhile.

C．Mothers’ devotion to children can hardly be calculated.

D．Investing time in parenting would bring a financial return.

4. What can we conclude from the study?

A．Mothers，working hours should be largely reduced.

B．Mothers should balance their time for work and rest.

C．Mothers’ labour is of a higher value than it is realised.

D．Mothers should be freed from housework for social life.