1 . I was 9 years old when I found out my father was ill. It was 1944, but I can remember my mother’s words as if it were yesterday, “Kerrel, I don’t want you to take food from your father, because he has AIDS. Be very careful when you are around him.”
AIDS wasn’t something we talked about in my country when I was growing up. From then on, I knew that this would be a family secret. My parents were not together anymore, and my dad lived alone. For a while, he could take care of himself. But when I was 12, his condition worsened. My father’s other children lived far away, so it fell to me to look after him.
We couldn’t afford all the necessary medication for him, and because Dad was unable to work, I had no money for school supplies and often couldn’t even buy food for dinner. I would sit in class feeling completely lost, the teacher’s words muffled(消声) as I tried to figure out how I was going to manage. I did not share my burden(负担) with anyone. I had seen how people reacted to AIDS. Kids laughed at classmates who had parents with the disease. And even adults could be cruel. When my father was moved to the hospital, the nurses would leave his food on the bedside table even though he was too weak to feed himself.
I had known that he was going to die, but after so many years of keeping his condition a secret, I was completely unprepared when he reached his final days. Sad and hopeless, I called a woman at the nonprofit National AIDS Support. That day, she didn’t know any about me and my father, but kept me on the phone for hours. I was so lucky to find someone who was so kind. She saved my life.
I was 15 when my father died. He took his secret away with him, having never spoken about AIDS to anyone, even me. He didn’t want to call attention to AIDS. I do.
1. What was Kerrel’s life like when she was little?A.She often took food from her father. |
B.She had to be careful when staying with her father. |
C.She didn’t look after her father until she was 15. |
D.She worked hard to pay for her father’s medication. |
A.She couldn’t understand her teacher. |
B.She had special difficulty in hearing. |
C.She was too concerned to focus on the lesson. |
D.She was too tired to hear her teacher’s words. |
A.She thought it was shameful to have AIDS. |
B.She was afraid of being looked down upon. |
C.She found no one willing to listen to her. |
D.She wanted to obey her mother. |
A.A secret never spoken. | B.The sufferings of my father. |
C.The terrible AIDS. | D.Dark days in childhood. |
Once there were two mice, a city mouse and a country mouse. They were distant relatives. One day the city mouse,
Delighted, the country mouse accepted the
3 . If your cellphone suddenly stops working, don't blame the service provider. The malfunction(故障) might have been caused by something bigger—a solar storm. Experts expect that the earth will see more solar activities in the near future. The malfunction of electronic devices is just one of the effects.
Sunspots(太阳黑子) serve as an indicator(标志) of the sun’s activity. For the past two years, sunspots have mostly been missing. Their absence, the longest in nearly 100 years, has taken even sun watchers by surprise.
When the number of sunspots drops at the end of each 11-year cycle, solar storms die down and all become much calmer. This "solar minimum" doesn’t' t last long. Within a year, sunspots and solar storms begin to build toward a new crescendo—the next solar maximum.
What's special about this latest cycle is that the sun is having trouble starting the next solar cycle. The sun began to calm down in late 2007, so no one expected many sunspots in 2008. They should return in 2010. Scientists have predicted that the next solar cycle could be the most active on record: more sunspots and more solar storms. However, sunspots are mostly missing now
Since the earth is in close contact with the sun, strong solar activities can bring trouble to our life. People of the 21st century rely on high-tech systems for the basics of daily life. Air travel and radio communications can be affected by strong solar activities. A big solar storm could cause 20 times more economic damage than Hurricane Katrina.
What the sun will do next is beyond our ability to predict. Most astronomers think that the solar cycle will go on but at low level. However, there is also evidence that the sun is losing its ability to produce sunspots. By 2015, they could be gone altogether.
1. The sun watchers feel surprised atA.the longest sunspots' absence | B.the largest sunspot number |
C.the malfunction of electronic devices | D.the serious damage by sunspots |
A.small number | B.high level |
C.usual cycle | D.fresh start |
A.Solar activities do no harm to our daily life |
B.Hurricane Katrina is also a type of solar storms |
C.It's difficult to predict sunspots. |
D.From now on there're no sunspots. |
4 . Do you know Australia? Australia is the largest island in the world. It is a little smaller than China. It is in the south of the earth. Australia is big, but its population is not large. The population of Australia is nearly as large as that of Shanghai.
The government has made enough laws to fight pollution. The cities in Australia have got little air or water pollution. The sky is blue and the water is clean. You can clearly see fish swimming in the rivers. Plants grow very well.
Last month we visited Perth, the biggest city in Western Australia, and went to a wild flowers' exhibition. There we saw a large number of wild flowers we had never seen before. We had a wonderful time. Perth is famous for its beautiful wild flowers. In spring every year Perth has the wild flowers' exhibition. After visiting Perth, we spent the day in the countryside. We sat down and had a rest near a path at the foot of a hill. It was quiet and we enjoyed ourselves. Suddenly we heard bells ringing at the top of the hill. What we saw made us pick up all our things and run back to the car as quickly as we could. There were about three hundred sheep coming towards us down the path.
Australia is famous for its sheep and kangaroos (袋鼠). After a short drive from any town, you will find yourself in the middle of white sheep. Sheep, sheep everywhere are sheep.
1. Australia is ________.A.the largest country in the world |
B.as large as Shanghai |
C.not as large as China |
D.the largest island in the north of the earth |
A.few laws to fight pollution |
B.enough laws that it can fight pollution |
C.enough laws that it can hardly fight pollution |
D.enough laws because the pollution is very serious |
A.Perth is famous for its beautiful wild flowers. |
B.Perth is bigger than any other city in Western Australia. |
C.Perth lies in the west of Australia |
D.Perth is the largest city in Australia. |
A.Australia is famous for its sheep, kangaroos and wild flowers |
B.We ran back to the car because we were in the middle of white sheep. |
C.Three hundred sheep came towards us because they saw us |
D.If you go to the countryside in Australia, you will see a large number of white sheep. |
1. 参加运动的重要性;
2. 推荐一项日常运动及理由。
注意:1. 词数100左右;2. 可适当增加细节,以使行文连贯。
Dear fellow students,
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Students’ Union
6 . Last year I took my 76-year-old father out for a trip in the Utah west desert. In the early
We waited for 24 hours to see if anyone happened to
I didn’t know whether I fell
Sometimes a little help is the
A.morning | B.evening | C.afternoon | D.noon |
A.closed | B.worked | C.broke | D.dropped |
A.surprise | B.safety | C.expectation | D.trouble |
A.cut down | B.pass by | C.set off | D.by accident |
A.walk | B.play | C.look | D.return |
A.thinking of | B.hoping for | C.suffering from | D.worrying about |
A.building | B.road | C.railway | D.station |
A.failed | B.made | C.lost | D.refused |
A.perfect | B.nearest | C.similar | D.biggest |
A.smile | B.idea | C.ride | D.push |
A.movement | B.research | C.jump | D.rest |
A.better | B.harder | C.faster | D.cleaner |
A.tired | B.silent | C.ill | D.asleep |
A.so | B.but | C.unless | D.because |
A.Finally | B.Actually | C.Immediately | D.Particularly |
A.healthy | B.warm | C.alive | D.weak |
A.receive | B.find | C.change | D.finish |
A.difference | B.experience | C.task | D.nobody |
A.handling | B.visiting | C.risking | D.stopping |
A.sometimes | B.often | C.always | D.never |
7 . I still remember the day when I was driving to the supermarket I own. When I came out, I found a boy
As he had refused the money, I offered to drive him around the town. The boy became so
I noticed his sister had a pale face.
After that day I went to his home several times. And I got to know more about him and his
Soon I
No matter how poor we are, we would
A.repairing | B.cleaning | C.fixing | D.hitting |
A.over | B.Off | C.in | D.on |
A.shout | B.cry | C.smile | D.throw |
A.lost | B.got | C.received | D.needed |
A.rich | B.poor | C.handsome | D.brave |
A.begged | B.agreed | C.allowed | D.refused |
A.car | B.shoes | C.suitcase | D.clothes |
A.Box | B.wheel | C.paper | D.bill |
A.Unhappy | B.scared | C.excited | D.unfriendly |
A.yard | B.office | C.school | D.home |
A.As soon as | B.As long as | C.As well as | D.So far as |
A.one | B.it | C.this | D.that |
A.What’s more | B.In addition | C.What’s worse | D.In general |
A.run | B.jump | C.climb | D.walk |
A.brother | B.family | C.friend | D.boss |
A.no longer | B.at last | C.at first | D.once again |
A.spend | B.save | C.make | D.borrow |
A.told | B.asked | C.answered | D.warned |
A.shop | B.work | C.sleep | D.buy |
A.always | B.often | C.ever | D.never |
8 . One day, 12-year old Sean Redden logged on to the Internet and went to a popular chat room. Just as he was about to sign off, he saw the name of someone he'd never seen there before, Susan. Her brief message was “Would someone help me?”
Sean typed back, “What's wrong?” A moment later he received this message, “I can't breathe. Help me! I can't feel my left side. I can't get out of my chair.”
At first, Sean thought pretending to be paralyzed (瘫痪) was a bad joke. Then he wondered what if she really was sick. “Hey, Mom,” he called. “There's a kid here who's sick or something.” Sharon looked at the computer screen. “It's not just some game, is it?” she asked.
The message was not a joke. “Susan” was actually a 20- year- old student, working late at night at a college library near Helsinki, Finland-almost 7, 000 miles away from Sean's home in Texas. While searching the Internet, she began to feel terrible pain all through her body. The library was silent and empty. The nearest phone was outside in the hallway. She couldn't move that far. Any movement caused the pain to get worse. Then she realized she might get help on the Internet.
“I don't think it's a joke, Mom,” Sean said. And he typed, “Where are you?” After a long pause (暂停), the letters appeared: “Finland.” Sean and Sharon couldn't believe it. Not knowing what else to do, Sharon called the local police.
Sharon explained the situation to Officer Amy Schmidt. Schmidt told Sharon to try to get the sick girl's phone number. Texas police called the international telephone operator and asked to be connected to the proper agency (机构) in Finland. The call was connected to a nearby rescue station. The Texas police gave Susan's address to the Finnish operator. When Sean heard that, he typed, “Help is on the way.”
In a few minutes, Susan heard people running down the hallway outside the door. Suddenly, the door opened. Emergency workers and three policemen ran in. Susan turned once more to the computer, “They are here. Thanks. Bye-bye. ”
Four days later, the police in Texas received message from officers in Finland: “Thanks to her Internet friend, Susan had received medical treatment she badly needed and is doing well.”
1. According to the text, Sean was about to sign off when __________.A.he noticed an unfamiliar name |
B.he came across a friend in the chat room |
C.a boy started a conversation with him |
D.he met with difficulty in sending messages |
A.Happy. | B.Doubtful. |
C.Frightened. | D.Worried. |
A.A robber hit her on her left side. | B.She was locked in the library. |
C.She left her phone in the hallway. | D.She was too sick to move. |
A.Help on the Internet | B.Help on the Way |
C.Making Friends Online | D.Police Officer's Act of Kindness |
I, the computer, began as a calculating machine to
I have been
10 . I believe honesty is one of the greatest gifts. I know they call it a lot of fancy names these days, like
I’ve been in the taxi business for thirty-five years,
Because taxi drivers are tough, people get the
I was born and raised in Ireland until I was nineteen years old. I came to this country in 1913 where I
People ask me about tips. As far as I know,
A.dishonor | B.dishonesty | C.faithful | D.outspoken |
A.take | B.make | C.become | D.have |
A.knowing | B.known | C.knew | D.know |
A.generous | B.mild | C.tough | D.warm-hearted |
A.right | B.proper | C.wrong | D.bad |
A.bad | B.rude | C.good | D.tough |
A.when | B.where | C.which | D.what |
A.houses | B.cars | C.pockets | D.rooms |
A.dropped her off | B.picked her up | C.dropped her down | D.pull her down |
A.emerald | B.suitcase | C.car | D.ring |
A.So | B.However | C.Still | D.Though |
A.was | B.is | C.has | D.did |
A.made | B.put | C.held | D.took |
A.at times | B.some time | C.in no time | D.at one time |
A.made | B.saved | C.got | D.paid |
A.difficult | B.trouble | C.word | D.anything |
A.especially | B.specially | C.particularly | D.actually |
A.never | B.seldom | C.fairly | D.poorly |
A.tip | B.advise | C.suggest | D.ask |
A.better | B.harder | C.longer | D.shorter |