1 . Ancient Rome was one of the world’s most powerful empires more than 2,000 years ago. The Romans’ Ideas about roads, laws, government and buildings still influence us today. Italy is shaped like a boot.
The Colosseum (角斗场) in Rome was built during the time of the Roman Empire, in the first century A.D.
Italy is well-known for its designers, who create cars, handbags, clothes, shoes and other items that are in demand for their style and fine workmanship.
Today, the economy of Italy is stronger than in the past.
Italy is a member of the European Union, a group of countries that join together for better trade. The currency, or money, they use is called the “euro”.
Food and eating good meals are important to Italians.
Many families still eat their main meal in the middle of the day.
| A．The family is very important to the Italian way of life. |
| B．The country used to depend on agriculture. |
| C．Mountains cover about three-fourths of the country. |
| D．It could seat about 50,000 people, who went to see fights between animals and people. |
| E．While there are some supermarkets, many people shop at small, neighborhood markets. |
| F．Italy has several islands off the coast. |
| G．The northern part of the country is the main manufacturing center. |
I went to a boarding(寄宿的)
“Things won’t get
From that day on，every time when she saw me，she would give me a
The day I left that school，I
“My mother
I will never
| A．hurt | B．drunk | C．lost | D．bored |
| A．brother | B．grandma | C．mother | D．aunt |
| A．class | B．factory | C．school | D．office |
| A．wasted | B．saved | C．got | D．spent |
| A．playing | B．singing | C．performing | D．pushing |
| A．student | B．worker | C．teacher | D．friend |
| A．ignored | B．noticed | C．smelt | D．felt |
| A．work up | B．went through | C．stood up | D．calmed down |
| A．angry | B．low | C．terrible | D．sad |
| A．meal | B．talk | C．sentence | D．test |
| A．if | B．why | C．when | D．how |
| A．firstly | B．finally | C．interestingly | D．strangely |
| A．better | B．smaller | C．worse | D．higher |
| A．look | B．smile | C．hand | D．book |
| A．phrases | B．accent | C．vocabulary | D．studies |
| A．happy | B．dangerous | C．hard | D．lonely |
| A．told | B．asked | C．answered | D．troubled |
| A．died | B．married | C．appeared | D．fell |
| A．with | B．for | C．without | D．as |
| A．cheat | B．forget | C．believe | D．upset |
The Pillow
At the age of sixteen, I joined a volunteer group with my dad. I went on my first volunteer project in West Virginia. On the night we arrived, we discovered that “our family” was living in a trailer(拖车) that was in poor condition. A crew had been working on it for two weeks, but every time they finished one problem, another surfaced.
We decided the only reasonable solution was to build a new house — something unusual but necessary under these circumstances. The family was overjoyed with their new house that was twenty by thirty feet with three bedrooms, a bath and a kitchen.
On Tuesday of that week, while we ate lunch together, I asked the family’s three boys, Josh, Eric and Ryan, “What do you want for your new room?” Expecting toys and other gadgets that children usually ask for, we were surprised when Josh responded, “I just want a bed.”
The boys had never slept in a bed! They were accustomed to plastic mats. That night we had a meeting and decided that beds would be the perfect gift. On Thursday night, a few adults in our group drove to the nearest city and bought beds and new bedding.
When we saw the delivery truck coming, we told the family about the surprise. We could hardly contain ourselves. It was like watching excited children on Christmas morning.
That afternoon, as we fitted the frames of the beds together, Eric ran into the house to watch us. Too dirty to enter his room, he observed with wide-eyed enthusiasm from the doorway.
As my father slipped a pillowcase onto one of the pillows, Eric asked, “What is that?”
“A pillow,” he replied.
“What do you do with it?” Eric continued to ask.
“When you go to sleep, you put your head on it,” I answered softly. Tears came to our eyes as she handed Eric the pillow.
“Oh . . . that’s soft,” he said, hugging it tightly.
Now, when my sister or I start to ask for something that seems urgent, my Dad gently asks, “Do you have a pillow?”
We know exactly what he means.
1. The writer’s first volunteer project was ________.| A．working on a poor trailer | B．helping a poor family |
| C．donating beds and bedding | D．dealing with a housing problem |
| A．the family lived in a trailer | B．he expected to get some toys |
| C．he didn’t know what a bed was | D．the boys had no bed to sleep in |
| A．a trailer | B．a truck | C．a pillow | D．a house |
| A．what they want to get may be unnecessary |
| B．they should not waste money on small things |
| C．they should do more volunteer work for the poor |
| D．what he will buy is not what they want but a pillow |
Our faces show emotions, but we should not attempt to “read” people from another culture as we would “read” someone from our own culture. The fact that members of one culture do not express their emotions as openly as members of another culture, but it does not mean that they do not experience emotions. Rather, there are cultural differences in the amount of facial expressiveness permitted. For example, in public and in formal situations many Japanese do not show their emotions as freely as Americans do. When with friends, Japanese and Americans seem to show their emotions similarly.
It is difficult to conclude about Americans and facial expressiveness because of personal and cultural differences in the United States. People from certain cultural backgrounds in the United States seem to be more facially expressive than others. The key is to try not to judge people whose ways of showing emotion are different. If we judge according to our own cultural habits, we may make the mistake of “reading” the other person incorrectly.
1. The author mentions the smile of the Vietnamese to prove that smile can ________.
| A．show friendliness to strangers |
| B．be used to hide true feelings |
| C．be used in the wrong places |
| D．show personal habits |
| A．Learn about their relations with others. |
| B．Understand their cultural backgrounds. |
| C．Find out about their past experience. |
| D．Figure out what they will do next. |
| A．Cultural Differences |
| B．Smiles and Relationships |
| C．Facial Expressiveness |
| D．Habits and Emotions |
Whatever your level is, choosing to take French lessons in France is the best way to learn French. Place yourself in the local culture and practice your newly found skills in your free time.
You will be taught by native (本地的) French speakers who have a love for teaching and use excellent teaching techniques. Lessons are interesting and you will speak French on the first day both inside and outside the classroom.
Learners
● Suitable for all levels from beginners to advanced (高级的)
● Over 18 years old
Class Schedule (课表)
● Classes start on Mondays and run throughout the summer.
● Please arrive at the school by 8:15 am on your first day for a short level test. It will help to place you in the right class.
● Classes run from Monday to Friday each week.
● Classes start at 8:45 am each day depending on your level.
● You will have 3 classes per day lasting 55 minutes each.
● You will have a short break between classes.
Free Time and Tours
● The school offers a lot of cultural activities throughout the week. These activities can include cooking lessons, wine and cheese tasting, visits to Paris, cycling, movies and much more.
● You will have plenty of free time to explore (探索) the local area and practice your newly found language skills or just relax on this learning holiday with a difference.
Other Information
● You should bring a small dictionary, pens and paper with you.
Get more from your holiday, have fun, meet new people and take home a new language skill that will stay with you forever.
1. What is special about the French courses?
| A．They are taught in small groups. |
| B．The teachers are young French speakers. |
| C．People learn French in and out of class. |
| D．They will offer a wine tasting license.(执照) |
| A．take a language test | B．pay for their study |
| C．do a survey | D．introduce themselves to the class |
| A．21. | B．30. | C．15. | D．12. |
| A．is not suitable for teenagers |
| B．offers cooking classes as well |
| C．provides dictionaries for students |
| D．has a short game between classes |
Then a visitor showed up. “Do you want to write a song?” asked Anita Kruse, 49, rolling a cart equipped with an electronic keyboard, a microphone and speakers. Simran stared. “Have you ever written a poem?” Anita Kruse continued. “Well, yes,” Simran said.
Within minutes, Simran was reading her poem into the microphone. “Some bird soaring through the sky,” she said softly. “Imagination in its head…” Anita Kruse added piano music, a few warbling (鸣, 唱) birds, and finally the girl’s voice. Thirty minutes later, she presented Simran with a CD of her first recorded song.
That was the beginning of Anita Kruse’s project, Purple Songs Can Fly, one that has helped more than 125 young patients write and record songs. As a composer and pianist who had performed at the hospital, Kruse said that the idea of how she could help “came in one flash”.
The effect on the kids has been great. One teenage girl, curling (蜷缩) in pain in her wheelchair, stood unaided to dance to a hip-hop song she had written. A 12-year-old boy with Hodgkin’s disease who rarely spoke surprised his doctors with a song he called I Can Make It.
“My time with the kids is heartbreaking because of the severity of their illnesses,” says Anita Kruse. “But they also make you happy, when the children are smiling, excited to share their CD with their families.”
Simran is now an active sixth grader and cancer-free. From time to time, she and her mother listen to her song, Always Remembering, and they always remember the “really sweet and nice and loving” lady who gave them a shining moment in the dark hour.
1. Simran Jatar lay in bed in hospital because ________.
| A．most of her hair had fallen out |
| B．she was receiving treatment for cancer |
| C．she felt depressed and quit from school |
| D．she was suffering from a pain in her back |
| A．It helps young patients record songs. |
| B．It is supported by singers and patients. |
| C．It aims to replace the medical treatment. |
| D．It offers patients chances to realize their dreams. |
| A．Most children are naturally fond of music. |
| B．He was brave enough to put up performance. |
| C．The project has positive effect on young patients. |
| D．Singing is the best way to treat some illnesses. |
| A．Purple Songs Can Fly |
| B．Singing Can Improve Health |
| C．A Shining Moment in Life |
| D．A Kind Woman—Anita Kruse |
7 . It was a Sunday and the heavy storm had lasted all night. The morning after the storm, though, was beautiful: blue skies, warm air and a calm, inviting sea touching the shore gently.
My father realized it was a good day for fishing and invited my sister and me to go with him. I was only 14 and fishing had never been my thing, but I decided to go all the same. I’m so glad I did.
On the road to the harbor we could see the terrible destruction on the coast, but the harbor itself was in fairly good shape. After all, it was protected by the arms of a bay that had only one tiny channel to the sea. As we got on board, we noticed two big humps (脊背) in the distance.
On approaching them, we saw it was a mother whale with her baby. We couldn’t believe it — there aren’t any whales along the coast here. The storm must have driven them across the ocean into the bay, in which the still water was so badly polluted that nothing could survive.
The little baby whale — actually as big as our boat — was obviously stuck and could not move. The mother dived under the water and came up suddenly, making big whirlpools(漩涡) and waves. “She’s trying to help her baby, but on the wrong side,” my father said. At this point, my father moved our boat in a semicircle to the other side and, heading the boat towards the baby whale, pushed it gently. With our several gentle pushes the big hump turned over and disappeared under water. Then it swam up right beside its mum. They struggled in their desperate attempts to escape but missed the exit and started heading in the wrong direction. We hurried up to the whales and tried to lead them towards the bay channel. Slowly, they let us lead them, some-times rising from the water right beside us to breathe — and to give us a trusting look with those huge eyes. Once they hit their first part of clean water flowing straight from the sea, the mum gave us a wave with her tail and off they swam into the distance.
In the excitement it had felt like only a few minutes, but we had been with those wonderful animals for almost an hour and a half. That was the simple and lasting beauty of the day. Nearly four decades later, I still look back fondly to that golden day at sea.
1. The author says “I’m so glad I did.” (in Para.2) because __________.| A．he spent the weekend with his family |
| B．be witnessed the whole process of fishing |
| C．he enjoyed the beauty of the calm sea |
| D．he experienced the rescue of the whales |
| A．the long coast line | B．the shape of the harbor |
| C．the arms of the bay | D．the still water in the channel |
| A．the waves pushed her baby in the wrong direction |
| B．she had stayed in the polluted water for too long |
| C．the whirlpools she had made were not big enough |
| D．she had no other whales around to turn to for help |
| A．It’s vital to protect the environment |
| B．Saving lives brings people a sense of happiness |
| C．Fishing provides excitement for children |
| D．It’s necessary to live in harmony with animals |
