1 . These days, tall modern buildings are everywhere, But if you want to see how life was back in the old days, China still has many beautiful water towns to visit. And now, CNN has chosen five of the country’s most beautiful ones.

The village of Zhouzhuang in Jiangsu calls itself the “oldest water town in China”. The village was built in 1086and is crossed with canals. Taking a boat ride through town, the red lanterns might make you think of China’s romantic past.

Hongcun in Anhui is 900 years old. It was built to look like a big ox. Huangshan Mountain is the head; the town is the body and the bridges are legs. Hongcun is filled with lakes and beautiful Anhui-style buildings.

Fenghuang in Hunan doesn’t look like a bird, but is name mans “phoenix” in Chinese. The town is really as beautiful as the mythical bird. The stilted buildings on each side of the Tuojiang River make the area look like a scene from a postcard.

Huangyao in Guangxi is known for its natural fengshui. The town lies in a river bend. People say it can prevent the villagers’ good fortune from flowing away

While most water towns are in the south, Shangdong’s Tai’erzhuang stands out in the north. The town lies on the bank of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. It was a busy trading center during the Ming and Qing dynasties. In the town, there are ancient bridges, a canal and temples, making you think of its past glory.

1. Where are we supposed to go if we want to taste the ancient beauty of China?

A．The water towns.	B．The modem buildings.
C．Jiangsu Province.	D．North china.

2. Which of the following is true according to the text?

A．Hongcun is the oldest town in China.

B．The river bend in Huangyao can protect its villagers.

C．Most water towns are located in the north.

D．Tai’er Zhuang used to be a trading center.

3. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Welcome to China.	B．China’s Water Towns.
C．Tips for Visiting China.	D．CNN’s Choices.

2 . 假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。作文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仪限一词；

2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。

Last year I went to the seaside to spending my summer holiday with my family. We stayed there for about two week. The weather was much hotter than in my hometown, but I got used to it or felt not so bad. Every morning, I got up early than my parents and went for breakfast ahead of the time. Then I went to the beach and talked with John, my new friend whom I come across on my first morning there. John was warm-heart and he seemed to be very familiar to the seaside village. Soon we became very good friends. We have kept write to each other ever since then.

3 . What do the world’s most successful people all have in common? The researehers found that high achievers like Robert Moses turn out to be all alike:

Busy！Busy!

    1    in a study of general managers in industry, John Kotter reported that many of them worked 60 to 65 hours per week-which translates into at least six 10-hour days. The ability and willingness to work difficult and tiring hours has characterized many powerful figures. Energy and strength provide many advantages to those seeking to build power.

    2    

The difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say “no” to almost everything. And that’s what gives them the time to accomplish so much.    3    . And focus means saying “no” to a lot of distractions（分散力）.

Know what you are

Ignore weakness and keep improving your strengths. Don’t waste time exploring skill areas where you have little competence. Instead, focus on-and build on-your strengths.    4    

    5    Wiseman created a “luck school” to test these ideas-and it was a success. In total, 80 percent of people who attended luck school said that their luck bad increased. On average, these people reported that their luck had risen by more than 40 percent.

A．Just say no!

B．Ask for more time.

C．Strengths are exactly what you are good at.

D．Achievement requires concentrations（注意力）

E．This means knowing who you are and what you are good at.

F．Does applying these principle（原则）to your life actually work?

G．High achievers never stop working and they never lose a minute.

4 . Night owls, people who stay up late and struggle to get out of bed in the morning, are more likely to die sooner than morning larks, the first study into their death rates has found.

New research by the University of Surrey and Northwestern University in the US found that people who naturally stay up late were 10 per cent more likely to die within the six-and-a-half-year study period compared to those who preferred the morning.

Researchers say that the ongoing stress of operating in a traditional 9-5 society was having a huge effect on millions of people and could be shortening their lives.

“This is a public health issue that can no longer be ignored,” said Malcolm von Schantz, a professor of chronobiology at the University of Surrey. “We should discuss allowing evening types to start and finish work later, where practical. And we need more research about how we can help evening types deal with the higher effort of keeping their body clock in line with sun time.”

The research involved nearly 500,000 Brits aged between 38 and 73 and found that around nine per cent considered themselves evening people, while 27 per cent identified as morning types.

In the new study, Scientists found owls had higher rates of diabetes, psychological disorders and neurological disorders. But the team has previously shown that whether someone is an owl or a lark is half genetic and half environment, meaning there may be ways to keep body clock issues under control.

The team recommends that night owls can help themselves by trying to become exposed to light early in the morning and not at night. Keeping regular bedtimes, maintaining a healthy lifestyle and trying to do tasks earlier in the day can help to reset body rhythms.

The study was published in the journal Chronobiology International.

1. What does the underlined word “their” in Paragraph 3 refer to?

A．Night owls’	B．Morning larks
C．Researchers’	D．Scientists’

2. What can we know from Malcolm’s words?

A．People who stay up late may die before age 7.

B．Staying up late is no longer a public health issue.

C．When people should start work will be discussed later.

D．More research is needed to help solve the problem.

3. Which of the following is not suggested by the research team?

A．Get up early.	B．Make full use of morning hours.
C．Get exposed to sunlight more often.	D．Go to bed at a fixed time.

4. What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?

A．To tell the differences between two types of people.

B．To introduce readers the result of a new research.

C．To warn night owls of their bad genes and environments.

D．To argue morning larks usually live longer than night owls.

5 . When we think of a generation gap we usually think of conflicting tastes in music, or pastimes. But now the generation gap is handwriting. After one teacher in Tennessee discovered that she had students who couldn’t read the assignments she was writing on the board, she posted it on the Internet saying handwriting should be taught in schools.

Opponents claim that handwriting has become out of time in our modern world. Typed words have become a primary form of communication. Once a practical skill, handwriting is no longer used by the vast majority of Americans. It is no longer taught in schools, and some claim that the time that it would take to teach it could be put to better use, for instance, by teaching the technical skills.

But even in today’s world there are still plenty of reasons to pick up a pen and apply it to paper. Many American institutions still require original signatures, for instance, signing for a registered letter and buying a house. And original signatures are much more difficult to forge（伪造）than their digital counterparts. There is also strong evidence that writing by hand is good for the mind. It activates a different part of the brain, and improves fine moving skills in young children. People also tend to remember what they write by hand more than what they type, and the process of writing by hand has been shown to stimulate ideas. Not only that, studies have shown that kids who write by hand learn to read and spell earlier than those who don’t. Not to mention, handwriting is pleasing, as is evidenced by the fact that no one has ever typed a love letter. And handwriting remains popular as an art form.

Yes we live in a modern world, but we live in a modern world that is based on fundamental values.

1. What did the teacher find in her class?

A．Her students had a big generation gap with her.

B．Her handwriting was too terrible to understand.

C．Some students could not recognize her handwriting on the blackboard.

D．Some students’ handwriting on the blackboard was too difficult to tell.

2. Why do some people agree to teach handwriting in school?

A．Handwriting is very easy to remember.

B．Handwriting is beneficial to the brain.

C．Handwriting can help one buy a house.

D．Handwriting is an art form out of time.

3. What can we infer from the passage?

A．What people write by hand is not easy to fake.

B．Lovers often write love letters to each other.

C．Handwriting is unnecessary in our modern society.

D．Technical skills are more important than handwriting.

4. What is the authors attitude towards teaching handwriting in school?

A．Opposed.	B．Objective.
C．Unconcerned.	D．Supportive.

6 . 根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

Recent research shows that listening to music improves our mental well-being and boosts our physical health in surprising and astonishing ways.    1    Here are some amazing scientifically-proven benefits of being hooked on music.

Music reduces depression

More than 350 million people suffer from depression around the world. A study by Hans Joachim Trappe in Germany demonstrated that music can benefit patients with depressive symptoms, depending on the type of music.    2    But techno and heavy metal brought people down even more. The next time you feel low, put on some classical or meditative music to lift your spirits.

    3    

Research shows that taking music lessons predicts higher academic performance and IQ in young children. In one study, 6-year-olds who took keyboard or singing lessons in small groups for 36 weeks had significantly larger increases in IQ and standardized educational test results than children who took either drama lessons or no lessons.    4    

Music keeps your brain healthy in old age

A study with healthy older adults found that those with ten or more years of musical experience scored higher on cognitive tests than musicians with one to nine years of musical study. The non-musicians scored the lowest. Business magnate Warren Buffet stays sharp at age 84 by playing ukulele.    5    

A．To help them achieve academic excellence, encourage them to sing or play an instrument.

B．Musical training can help raise our IQs and even keep us sharp in old age.

C．Music raises IQ and academic performance.

D．It’s never too late to play an instrument to keep you on top of your game.

E．Meditative sounds and classical music lifted people up.

F．Music strengthens learning and memory.

G．Music can make you happy every day.

7 . Would it surprise you to learn that, like animals, trees communicate with each other and pass on their wealth to the next generation?

UBC Professor Simard explains how trees are much more complex than most of us ever imagined. Although Charles Darwin thought that trees are competing for survival of the fittest, Simard shows just how wrong he was. In fact, the opposite is true: trees survive through their cooperation and support, passing around necessary nutrition “depending on who needs it”.

Nitrogen (氮) and carbon are shared through miles of underground fungi (真菌) networks, making sure that all trees in the forest ecological system give and receive just the right amount to keep them all healthy. This hidden system works in a very similar way to the networks of neurons (神经元) in our brains, and when one tree is destroyed, it affects all. Simard talks about “mother trees”, usually the largest and oldest plants on which all other trees depend. She explains how dying trees pass on the wealth to the next generation, transporting important minerals to young trees so they may continue to grow. When humans cut down “mother trees” with no awareness of these highly complex “tree societies” or the networks on which they feed, we are reducing the chances of survival for the entire forest “We didn’t take any notice of it.” Simard says sadly. “Dying trees move nutrition into the young trees before dying, but we never give them chance.” If we could put across the message to the forestry industry, we could make a huge difference towards our environmental protection efforts for the future.

1. The underlined sentence “the opposite is true” in Paragraph 2 probably means that trees ________.

A．compete for survival	B．protect their own wealth
C．depend on each other	D．provide support for dying trees

2. “Mother trees” are extremely important because they ________.

A．look the largest in size in the forest

B．pass on nutrition to young trees

C．seem more likely to be cut down by humans

D．know more about the complex “tree societies”

3. The underlined word “it” in the last paragraph refers to ________.

A．how “tree societies” work	B．how trees grow old
C．how forestry industry develops	D．how young trees survive

4. What would be the best title for the passage?

A．Old Trees Communicate Like Humans

B．Young Trees are In Need Of Protection

C．Trees Are More Awesome Than You Think

D．Trees Contribute To Our Society

8 . 阅读下面短文，按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求，在空格处填入一个适当的词或使用括号中词语的正确形式填空，并将答案填写在答题卷的相应位置上。

As settlers moved to California     1     the mid-nineteenth century, they became concerned about the lack of rapid     2     (communicate) with the eastern United States. Because of the dangers and hardships of     3     (cross) the West, mail often did not arrive. Therefore the most important mails     4     (send) via Panama,     5     took a month or more. In 1860 a stagecoach company decided to meet the problem by beginning the Pony Express. The company hired     6    bravest riders and bought the fastest horses     7     (use) as relay(替换) teams between Missouri and California, and the company promised     8    mails would be sent in ten days. The company established two hundred stations along the route at which riders could rest and change horses. In less than two years,     9     , telegraph lines were completed and the Pony Express was     10     longer needed.

9 . Shakespeare’s Birthplace and Exhibition of Shakespeare’s World
Welcome to the world-famous house where William Shakespeare was born in l564 and where he grew up .The property (房产) remained in the ownership of Shakespeare’s family until 1806 .The House has welcomed visitors travelling from all over the world for over 250 years.

◆Enter through the Visitors’ Centre and see the highly-praised exhibition Shakespeare's World，a lively and full introduction to the life and work of Shakespeare.
◆Stand in the rooms where Shakespeare grew up.
◆Discover examples of furniture and needlework from
Shakespeare’s period.
◆Enjoy the traditional   English garden，planted with trees and flower mentioned in the poet’s works.

The Birthplace is within easy walking distance of all the car parks shown on the map；nearest is Windsor Street(3 minutes’ Walk).

The House may present difficulties but the Visitors’ Centre，its exhibition,and the garden are accessible (可进入的)to wheelchair users.
The Shakespeare Coffee House (opposite the Birthplace).
1. How much is the admission for a family of two grown-ups and two children？

A．￡9.80．

B．￡12.00．

C．￡14.20．

D．￡16.40．

2. Where is the nearest parking place to Shakespeare’s Birthplace？

A．Behind the exhibition hall．

B．Opposite the Visitors’ Centre．

C．At Windsor Street．

D．Near the Coffee House．

3. A wheelchair user may need help to enter      ．

A．the House	B．the garden
C．the Visitors’ Centre	D．the exhibition hall

10 . It is widely known that any English conversation begins with The Weather. Such a fixation with the weather finds expression in Dr. Johnson’s famous comment that “When two English meet, their first talk is of weather.” Though Johnson’s observation is as accurate now as it was over two hundred years ago, most commentators(评论员) fail to come up with a convincing explanation for this English weather-speak.

Bill Bryson, for example, concludes that, as the English weather is not at all exciting, the obsession with it can hardly be understood. He argues that” To an outsider, the most striking thing about the English weather is that there is not very much of it.” Simply, the reason is that the unusual and unpredictable weather is almost unknown in the British Isles.

Jeremy Paxman, however, disagrees with Bryson, arguing that the English weather is by nature attractive. Bryson is wrong, he says, “because the English preference for the weather has nothing to do with the natural phenomena(现象).” The interest is less in the phenomena themselves, but in uncertainty.” According to him, the weather in England is very changeable and uncertain and it attracts the English as well as the outsider.

Bryson and Paxman stand for common misconceptions about the weather-speak among the English. Both commentators, somehow, are missing the point. The English weather conversation is not really about the weather at all. English weather-speak is a system of signs ,which is developed to help the speakers overcome the natural reserve and actually talk to each other. Everyone knows conversations starting with weather-speak are not requests for weather data. Rather, they are routine greetings, conversation starters or the blank “fillers”, In other words, English weather-speak is a means of social bonding.

1. The author mentions Dr. Johnson’s comment to show that________.

A．most commentators agree with Dr. Johnson

B．Dr. Johnson is famous for his weather observation

C．the comment was accurate two hundred years ago

D．English conversations usually start with the weather

2. What does the underlined word “obsession” most probably refer to?

A．A social trend.	B．An emotional state.
C．A historical concept.	D．An unknown phenomenon.

3. According to the passage, Jeremy Paxman believes that________.

A．Bill Bryson has little knowledge of the weather

B．there is nothing special about the English weather

C．the English weather attracts people to the British Isles

D．English people talk about the weather for its uncertainty

4. What is the author’s main purpose of writing the passage?

A．To explain what English weather-speak is about.

B．To analyze misconceptions about the English weather.

C．To find fault with both Bill Bryson and Jeremy Paxman.

D．To convince people that the English weather is changeable.