Dear headmaster, As president of Sullivan Junior High School’s student council, I have been chosen to write to you on behalf of the eighth grade class. We would like to propose an eighth grade promotion trip to Sea World in San Diego, California. We chose Sea World for several reasons. In science class, we have been studying oceans and the marine life. Going to Sea World would provide us with the opportunity to visit these creatures and to better understand their habitats. This could be a once in a lifetime experience for those of us who have never been outside Arizona. We will have lots of fun and learn at the same time. The close location of San Diego was also a factor in planning this trip. San Diego can be reached by bus in about six hours. If the buses leave Sullivan after school on Friday afternoon, we should arrive in California in time to have a late dinner and get settled into our hotel rooms before midnight. |
You may be asking yourself. “How will this trip be financed?” We are suggesting that the school host an “Oceans of Fun” night for family, friends, and community members for a small fee. The activities would be organized and supervised by eighth grade students. Some of our ideas for the night include a Surfer’s Snack Shop with homemade treats for sale, Pirate Pete’s Treasure hunt, and a short production of “A Whale of a Tale.” This would the best chance to show our ocean animal reports. Many of the eighth grade students have gone to school together since kindergarten. We believe that this trip would be a fantastic way to celebrate friendships. This trip may also be one of the last times we see our friends because students from Sullivan Junior High School attend four different high schools. We invite you to our next student council meeting on December 7, 2013, to discuss your thoughts and work out any concerns you still may have. Thank you for taking the time to consider our request for an eighth-grade promotion trip. Sincerely, Julie Martino |
1. Who has written this letter? What is she?
2. What idea has the author mainly expressed in Paragraph 4?
3. Why has the author written this letter?
4. Why does the author mention that many students have gone to school together since kindergarten in Paragraph 5?
2 . The silence of the Reference Library was broken only by the sound of pages being turned over. There were about twenty people in the room, most of them with their
Phillip had not been to this part of the library before. He
He had just sat down when he found the young lady assistant standing alongside him. “You
A.legs | B.hands | C.arms | D.heads |
A.jumped | B.ran | C.walked | D.danced |
A.afraid | B.confident | C.careful | D.certain |
A.when | B.until | C.because | D.although |
A.reach | B.control | C.pocket | D.balance |
A.looking | B.falling | C.bending | D.climbing |
A.little | B.strange | C.low | D.loud |
A.up | B.down | C.away | D.around |
A.held | B.picked | C.made | D.put |
A.fault | B.arrival | C.fall | D.limit |
A.may | B.must | C.can | D.would |
A.thought | B.picture | C.change | D.shock |
A.asked | B.provided | C.allowed | D.encouraged |
A.determined | B.expected | C.planned | D.refused |
A.relaxing | B.sharp | C.bored | D.kindly |
3 . To Their Own Beat
When Los Lobos perform in concert today, audiences in the thousands cheer them on. It’s hard to believe that the group started out as just another garage band playing popular rock-and-roll tunes from the radio, In 1974 four high school friends from East Los Angeles formed Los Lobos ( Spanish for “The Wolves” ) .
Like many garage bands, these friends might have simply gone their separate ways after high school. But the members of Los Lobos wanted to keep making music together. They decided to change their musical style and began focusing on traditional Mexican music that showed their tradition.
“We pulled out all those records we used to beg our parents not to play around our friends and found an incredible wealth of music,” says Perez. “These guys (on the records) were doing amazing things with their instruments, and we started trying to pick up on it. ”
The group put aside its electric guitars for the acoustic ones used in traditional Mexican music. For several years Los Lobos played at weddings or parties—any event that needed live music. They also landed a regular engagement (合同) at a Mexican restaurant.
By 1978 Los Lobos had made enough money to record their first album (唱片) , and they sold copies of it wherever they performed. They also returned to their electric guitars to get closer to a Tex-Mex sound, which is a mixture of traditional Mexican music, rock and roll, country music, and the blues. This new, louder sound produced one unexpected result: the group was fired from the restaurant.
But it didn’t matter that Los Lobos had lost their one steady job, because they had found a position that no other group took up. They had combined electric and acoustic instruments and blended (混合) musical styles in their own way. Steve Berlin joined the band in 1983 as the saxophone and keyboard player, adding to the band’s unusual sound.
“We didn’t so much want to recycle the music we’d grown up with as much as find the common links between it and all the other styles and sounds that were all around us,” Perez explains. “It became a mission ... bringing music together to bring people together. ”
In the 1980s Los Lobos gained the attention of several record companies. They were hired to perform on the soundtrack to the film La Bamba, which earned them a Golden Eagle Award. They have since earned many awards, including two Grammys and an MTV Video Music Award. Their many records have been very successful, and they have toured the world.
Even after 30 years of making music together, Los Lobos continues to experiment with their sound. They never moved far away from their Mexican roots, however. They still include traditional music in their live performances, sharing their history—and their culture—with their fans.
1. Los Lobos recorded their first album after they_______.A.lost their job at a restaurant |
B.began playing acoustic guitars |
C.won an award for a film soundtrack |
D.added saxophone and keyboards to their sound |
A.Paragraph 1. | B.Paragraph 4. | C.Paragraph 6. | D.Paragraph 8. |
A.The way they recorded their first album. |
B.Their blending of different types of music. |
C.Their decision to play traditional Mexican music. |
D.The fact that they performed and toured the world. |
A.Music is best when played with traditional instruments. |
B.Music must be recorded to be passed down. |
C.Music should remain the same over time. |
D.Music can show many cultures. |
4 .
Greco-Roman Festival Friday, April 28th!You will be assigned to a group. As a member of the group, you will participate in at least ONE of the following activities. 1 Compete in an Olympic event. Sign up with your English teacher, and remember space is limited for each event, so don’t delay. See the list under “Olympic Events” below. 2 Make Greek or Roman food. Mrs. Jones has a list of actual recipes (配方) from ancient Greece and Rome. You may make American food, but be sure to give it a unique, mythological name. For example, call your chocolate cake “Zeus’s Delight.” This is a great way to practice your skills in the kitchen. (Please bring your food in a disposable container.) 3 Create a work of art for the museum. Be sure your artwork reflects ancient Greek or Roman culture. Artwork may include sculptures, paintings, mosaics, drawings, or models. The museum is a great place to show off your artistic talent. 4 Perform an original skit, song, or dance for the talent show. Rewrite your favorite Greek myth using modern language, or change the lyrics of a popular song to tell a Greek or Roman tale. Gather your creative energy and submit your ideas to your English teacher for approval. To try out, you must perform for a panel of teachers. This audition helps the teachers choose the BEST performance groups for the talent show, so be sure your group has rehearsed. 5 OLYMPIC EVENTS: ● Hercules Throw — Throw a football through a hoop 20 feet away. ● Three-Headed Race — Three people line up with touching legs tied. Then they run the distance of the gym. ● Toga-Barrow Race — This is like a wheelbarrow race while wearing your toga. (Runners grab partners’ feet Thursday, April 27th while partners walk on hands.) 6 Come to the Toga-tying Party Since the ancient Greeks should inspire your apparel for the event, feel free to attend the festival in a toga. Learn to tie your toga. Thursday, April 27th After school in the gym |
A.New recipes must be created. |
B.The best cook will win an award. |
C.Students can learn how to make chocolates. |
D.Greek or Roman names must be used for the food. |
A.Music. | B.Poems. | C.Words. | D.Styles. |
A.show students their choices |
B.find out the students’ talents |
C.train students in different ways |
D.persuade students to join in every activity |
Holidays are not necessarily for fun or rest. Doing something meaningful can also gain special pleasure. When the final bell rang, the students were reminded that there was no school on Monday—the Labor Day. “Enjoy your extra day off” said the teacher to her class.
An extra day off unsuited Kayla just fine. She loved breaks. She wanted to go out to play with her friends. When the school bus dropped Kayla off, she ran into the house happily.
“How was school, Kayla?” asked her mom.
“It was great, Mom. I am excited about no school on Monday.”
“You just started back to school two weeks ago. Already in need of a break, huh?” asked Kayla’s mom with a laugh.
Kayla slept in the next morning. Saturday was her favorite day of the week. I trained most of the day, so Kayla enjoyed playing videogames inside. On Sunday, her friends came over and they played basketball for several hours.
Then it was Labor Day, you know, the extra day off that Kayla was so looking forward to. But Kayla was awakened early that morning by her dad. He told Kayla that in honor of Labor Day, the family would be cleaning both inside and outside the house. Kayla couldn’t believe it. This was a holiday. A day when she was supposed to be enjoying freshly squeezed lemonade while playing in her tree house. As Kayla wiped here yes, she began to wonder if this was just a bad dream.
“Kayla, your breakfast is ready. We have a lot of work to do today. Let’s get a move on,” said Kayla’s mom. As she sat down at the kitchen table, Kayla asked her parents,
“Are you serious about working today? Isn’t Labor Day a holiday?”
“Yes, Kayla. It is,” replied her dad. “But your mom and I thought working hard today would make you appreciate why Labor Day was observed in the first place.”
注意:1.所续写短文的词数应为150左右;2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
At first Kayla felt disappointed at her parents’ plan for the holiday.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________But things began to change as she was doing the chores.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________6 . Nixon, 59 years old, was born and grew up in St. Petersburg. Each morning, he sits on a bench, watches the sunrise, and connects with
Eight years ago, he decided to begin each day from a bench (a kind of chair) with an impressive view of the St. Petersburg waterfront (圣彼得堡海滨), because it made him feel calm and
About a year later, a woman stopped to say hello, and she said something that
Instead of staring straight ahead at the waterfront, Nixon started
No matter what problem a person wants to
Nixon was always happy to listen, and he listens without
And at that moment, she truly wasn’t.
1.A.teenagers | B.relatives | C.strangers | D.neighbors |
A.peaceful | B.excited | C.proud | D.surprised |
A.formed | B.changed | C.developed | D.supported |
A.agreed | B.realized | C.imagined | D.remembered |
A.pointing | B.laughing | C.shouting | D.smiling |
A.joining | B.noticing | C.leaving | D.praising |
A.say | B.face | C.hear | D.create |
A.fame | B.success | C.marriage | D.privacy |
A.health | B.hobbies | C.kids | D.job |
A.give up | B.calm down | C.speak up | D.slow down |
A.emotion | B.consideration | C.judgment | D.interest |
A.guide | B.teacher | C.friend | D.workmate |
A.hugged | B.greeted | C.competed | D.satisfied |
A.secrets | B.worries | C.happiness | D.silence |
A.sad | B.alone | C.stressed | D.hopeless |
7 . When I tried out for the football team during the summer before 9th grade, I never imagined how important this sport would become in my life. Football is a
In the first year, I played on the defensive line. This was an amazing
In September, during my junior year, my name was mentioned in the local newspaper as the key defensive lineman on the team. After playing a fantastic season, I was given the
In this sense, the world of football has taught me an important life lesson:
A.tough | B.popular | C.typical | D.dynamic |
A.set | B.control | C.test | D.require |
A.mistakes | B.adventures | C.accidents | D.injuries |
A.performance | B.position | C.moment | D.advantage |
A.with | B.over | C.through | D.into |
A.valuable | B.lost | C.extra | D.regular |
A.pride | B.choice | C.name | D.honor |
A.Unfortunately | B.Similarly | C.Happily | D.Gradually |
A.practices | B.tryouts | C.seasons | D.operations |
A.But | B.Or | C.So | D.And |
A.examined | B.changed | C.provided | D.completed |
A.shoulder | B.hand | C.leg | D.foot |
A.explore | B.avoid | C.love | D.support |
A.Knowledge | B.Belief | C.Experience | D.Opinion |
A.enjoyable | B.possible | C.sensible | D.responsible |
8 . Are you looking for some movies? You’ve landed on the right place. Let’s take a look at the list I’ve collected.
A Beautiful Mind
A Beautiful Mind is the story of John Nash, a mathematician who went on to win the Nobel Prize for his Game Theory. This movie brings his whole journey on screen—from his beginning to his downhill ride.
The first half is all about his rise to fame while the second half shows how he slowly falls into madness. After many years of fighting, he finally is victorious.
I.Q.
The story is about an auto mechanic who falls for Albert Einstein’s niece. The only problem is that she is engaged (已订婚的) to someone else. Fortunately, Einstein likes him. The young man pretends to be a physicist to run after her, but things don’t go as he has planned.
If A Beautiful Mind was a little too heavy for you, I.Q. would be the perfect fit. It’s a light drama that is funny and heartwarming for the most part.
Good Will Hunting
Good Will Hunting is a touching tale of a troubled young man called Will Hunting who is gifted with a natural talent in mathematics.
However, he is struggling to find his identity. He can solve any math problem, but not the one he seems to be struggling within his life. His life seems to be getting only worse until one day he meets Sean, a therapist, who helps him find direction in life.
Creation
Creation is a story of a famous scientist, Charles Darwin, best known for his Theory of Evolution. This movie attempts to bring his struggling days into focus, the time when he was dealing with the loss of his daughter and was suffering from hallucinations (幻觉). At the same time, he was working on a book called On the Origins of Species, which he finally completed.
All in all, Creation is a great historical drama.
1. If you are interested in a relaxing movie, which one can you see?A.I.Q | B.Creation | C.A Beautiful Mind | D.Good Will Hunting |
A.Will Hunting and Sean. | B.John Nash and Will Hunting. |
C.Charles Darwin and Sean. | D.John Nash and Charles Darwin. |
A.To introduce movies. | B.To promote science. |
C.To recommend actors. | D.To compare movies. |
9 . A new study in the journal of Tourism Analysis shows frequent travelers are happier with their lives than people who don’t travel at all.
Chun-Chu Chen, an assistant professor at Washington State University, conducted a survey to find out why some individuals travel more frequently than others and whether or not travel and tourism experiences have a lasting effect on happiness and wellness.
The results of his analysis show individuals who pay more attention to tourism-related information and frequently discuss their travel plans with friends are more likely to go on regular vacations than those who aren’t constantly thinking about their next trip. Additionally, participants in the survey who reported regularly traveling at least 75 miles away from home also reported being about 7% happier when asked about their overall well-being than those who reported traveling very rarely or not at all.
“While things like work, family life and friends play a bigger role in overall reports of well-being. The accumulation (积累) of travel experiences’ does appear to have a small yet noticeable effect on self-reported life satisfaction,” Chen said.
Participants in the study were asked about the importance of travel in their lives, how much time they spent looking into and planning future vacations, and how many trips they went on over a year. They were also asked about their life satisfaction. Out of the 500 survey participants, a little over half reported going on more than four pleasurable trips a year. Only 7% of respondents did not take any vacations.
As travel restrictions (限制) due to COVID-19 pandemic begin to relax in the future, the research could have important effects on both tourists and the tourism industry. Based on the results of the study, Chen said travel companies, resorts and even airlines, could launch social media campaigns, such as creating signs about the scientific benefits of vacation, to spark people’s interest in discussing their opinions about travel.
1. What is the benefit of frequent travelling according to the study?A.Getting more tourism information. | B.Making more friends. |
C.Bettering tourism industry. | D.Improving one’s well-being. |
A.Why the professor carried out the study. |
B.How the participants felt about the survey. |
C.What the participants were interviewed about. |
D.What the participants panned to do in the future. |
A.Tourism industry should improve their service. |
B.The results of the study will benefit tourism industry. |
C.COVID-19 pandemic will be more serious in the future. |
D.People will live a happier life after COVID-19 pandemic. |
A.Travel more and be happier | B.Make good use of travelling |
C.Prepare for the tourism development | D.Make travel plans with friends |
10 . A few weeks ago, I sat with a California farmer named Dave Ribeiro. I asked him what he wished more people knew about farmers. He smiled and said, “That we walk among you. We look like you and talk like you. We have advanced degrees and hobbies, just like you.”
Take Dave: He’s a young man with a music degree. And if you walked past him on the street, you’d never think, “There goes a farmer.”
Is someone like Dave who you picture when you think of a farmer? Probably not. I think that most people would picture a man in his overalls. I can tell you, that does not represent Dave or any of the many other farmers I have gotten to know.
Not only do we have to throw out our stereotypes of farmers, but farming as a whole doesn’t look much like it used to either. We recently sent a team out to see what modern farming looks like, and they found farmers to be completely different from our usual ideas about them and also came across them in some unexpected places.
In a parking lot in a neighborhood of Brooklyn, they met a new crop of young farmers who are trying to bring fresh greens closer to eaters in the city by growing them in high-tech indoor vertical farms. In a Florida field under the flight path of an airport, they discovered farmers with university degrees growing algae (藻类) that might someday fuel our cars. And in a modern farm in California, they observed how farmers are using technology to take the best possible care of their animals.
These farmers all spend their days in very different ways — none of them looks like the stereotypical farmer we have in our mind — but they’re all working on new ways to feed our planet. Not only do we need to change our idea of what farming looks like, but we also need to change our view of where solutions can come from. Feeding all of us is going to take all of us working together.
1. How does Dave describe today’s farmers?A.They often walk on the street. | B.They are leading a very busy life. |
C.They are similar to ordinary people. | D.They have little time to make friends. |
A.They usually wear overalls. | B.They have interesting hobbies. |
C.They are skilled at growing crops. | D.They know modern farming practices. |
A.To deepen connections among farmers. |
B.To study different technologies in farming. |
C.To report on the new developments of farming. |
D.To encourage farmers to use new farming methods. |
A.They all work in the city. | B.They all use high technology. |
C.They all do hard physical work. | D.They all work with universities. |