3 . Five-year-old Willard Wigan struggled to tell the difference between an M and a W or a 6 and a 9. Unfortunately, his schoolteacher knew nothing about dyslexia (阅读障碍症), a learning disability that can make letters and numbers ________. She didn’t try to ________ him.

Not ________, Willard didn’t like school. Usually, his mind drifted (游荡) to playing outside, to his dog Maxie, or to the ________ that lived near his family’s garden bed. Willard was especially ________ about those ants. He felt like them-________ and insignificant.

Willard ________ that the ants were coming and going from a hole in the dirt. One ant was carrying a piece of grass, and Willard thought, “He’s trying to build a ________, so I am going to help him!”

Willard constructed a small house for ants. At school, Willard still ________, but now he knew he could do something ________. Maybe he wasn’t a failure after all. Willard later went home and created tiny furniture (家具) for the ant house.

His artistic skill ________, and a love for little things began to grow in his heart. When he showed his mother his carved works, she said, “This is what you do well. You must make ________ to be the best in the world.”

With her ________, Willard continued. When he quit school at age 15 to help support his family, Willard still spent his spare time ________. His confidence grew as more people appreciated his talent.

Because of their beauty and rarity, Willard’s sculptures have made him a(n) ________ man. But he says, “Success isn’t about material things like an expensive watch or a costly ring; it’s about determination and achieving your dreams.”

1.

A．disappointing

B．unclear

C．confusing

D．invisible

2.

A．help

B．warn

C．question

D．rescue

3.

A．hurriedly

B．expectedly

C．suddenly

D．surprisingly

4.

A．ants

B．bees

C．cats

D．worms

5.

A．confident

B．curious

C．particular

D．doubtful

6.

A．small

B．smart

C．pretty

D．lazy

7.

A．imagined

B．noticed

C．realized

D．thought

8.

A．kitchen

B．tent

C．house

D．road

9.

A．waited

B．escaped

C．disappeared

D．struggled

10.

A．special

B．great

C．hopeful

D．wrong

11.

A．gained

B．increased

C．shared

D．ended

12.

A．plans

B．progress

C．preparations

D．effort

13.

A．comfort

B．concern

C．instruction

D．encouragement

14.

A．working

B．carving

C．reading

D．studying

15.

A．wealthy

B．reliable

C．independent

D．open

4 . The second-hand car that I bought just three months ago wouldn’t start the other day. The factory battery that came along with it showed that it had worked long enough to “face death”. My kind-hearted neighbor gave it a try, but the battery wouldn’t hold the charge. After giving another try, I headed to the local car store to buy a new one. Fixing it was more difficult than we thought, so I took it to a local repairman who finally got the new battery in and the car started running once again.

Driving it this morning, though, I noticed that the time on the screen had suddenly gone back to nine years, resetting to the date of the first time when it was started. While my son smartly found out how to program it back to today, I thought about how I had wished I could turn back time and make up for some of the errors I had made and the missteps I had taken in my own life during my boyhood time.

How many of us wish that we could go back to a certain time and change things? Like most middle-aged fathers, I have ever wished that. Yet, when I look back on my life today, I think that I won’t change anything. Every choice I have made, every step I have taken, and every road I have taken has led me to where I am now. Many of my choices have brought me pain in the past, but they have also guided me in the present. I won’t want to change things as they will change me. All that I have learned comes from the roads I have taken.

When you look at your own life, you can remember your past sadness, bout don’t regret the roads you took. Instead, celebrate the path you are on. Keep your feet moving forward.

1. How did the author get the car to work?

A．by accepting his neighbor’s battery.

B．By asking a man to repair it at home.

C．By sending it to its production factory.

D．By changing is battery for a new one.

2. What did the wrong time on the car’s screen remind the author of?

A．His past mistakes.

B．His happy childhood days.

C．His difficulty in the car repair.

D．His experience of buying the car.

3. What does the author think of his pain in life now?

A．It is confusing.	B．It is valuable.
C．It is uncommon.	D．It is unimaginable.

4. What does the author want to tell us?

A．We shouldn’t remember the past.

B．No one can make up for mistakes.

C．No one wants to go back and live once again.

D．We shouldn’t regret the past but should move on.

6 . 假设你是李华，你的英国笔友Peter打算寒假期间来新疆旅游，发邮件向你征询建议，请你用英文回复邮件，内容包括：
1、因为冬季是冰雪旅游的旺季，游客众多，至少提前一个月预定宾馆。
2、可以打的出行，也可以租车自驾出行。
3、建议出行时有当地导游陪同。
注意：1、词数100左右。
2、可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
3、开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Peter,
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours

Li Hua

7 . 阅读下面短文,在空白处填入适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Yang shuo，China

It was raining     1     (heavy) when I reached Yangshuo just before dawn. But I didn’t care. A few hours before, I’d been at home in Hong Kong,     2     is full of chocking smog. Here, the air was clean and fresh, even with the rain.

Guilin is a dream place for     3    (visitor) from all over the world, but I chose to pay a visit to Yangshuo instead     4     it. For those     5     (fly) to Guilin, it takes only an hour to get to Yangshuo     6     car.

Yanshuo     7     (be) really beautiful. A study of travelers which is     8     (carry) out by the website names Yangshuo as one of the top ten destinations in the world. And the town is becoming a popular weekend destination for people in Asia. Abercrombie & Kent, a travel company in Hong Kong, says it often make     9     (arrange) for people who live in Shanghai and Hong Kong to spend     10     (they) holidays here.

9 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

In the Arctic, snowy owls(雪鸮, 雪枭)stick close     1     their nests, so scientists can     2    (easy) observe them. But once the owls fly south for the winter,     3     (expert) aren’t exactly sure where they go or what they do. Project Snow Storm is trying to solve these mysteries.

    4    (introduce)in 2013, the program uses GPS tracking devices to follow owls across the United States and Canada on their inter migration(迁徙)paths. First, scientists catch     5     owl using a harmless net trap. Then the bird is equipped with a light weight backpack that won’t affect its ability to fly. The tracker sends the bird’s location back to scientists through cellphone towers.

So far, Project Snow Storm     6    (track) nearly a hundred owls. Scientists have discovered that some birds remain in the same small patch of land every winter, while others travel     7    (hundred) of miles in a few weeks.

The tracking data also shows that owls in some areas are     8     (make) lots of short flights, which is because the birds keep having to fly away from     9    (curiosity) people. “Humans might love the birds a little too much, ” Weidensaul says, “    10    you’re luck enough to see one, give it plenty of space. ”

10 . Suddenly another thought went through Kate’s mind like an electric shock. An express train was due to go past about thirty minutes later. If it were not stopped, that long train, full of passengers, would fall into the stream. “Someone must go to the station and warn the station-master,” Kate thought. But who was to go? She would have to go herself. There was none else.

In wind and rain she started on her difficult way. Soon she was at the bridge that crossed the Des Moines River, a bridge also built of wood, just like the bridge across Honey Creek. The storm had not washed this away, but there was no footpath across it. She would have to cross it by stepping from sleeper (枕木) to sleeper. With great care she began the dangerous crossing, sometimes on her hands and knees, hardly daring to look down between the sleepers into the wild flood waters below. If she should slip, she would fall between the sleepers, into the rapidly flowing stream.

At last—she never knew how long it had taken her—she felt solid ground under her feet. But there was no time to rest. She still had to run more than half a mile and had only a few minutes left. Unless she reached the station before the express did, many lives would be lost.

She did reach the station just as the train came into sight. Fortunately the station-master was Standing outside. “The bridge is down! Stop the train! Oh, please stop it!” Kate shouted breathlessly. The station-master went pale. He rushed into the station building and came back with a signal light. He waved the red light as the train came into the station. It was not a second too early.

1. What did Kate decide to do?

A．Visit the station-master.	B．Check the signal light.
C．Meet the passengers.	D．Stop the express train.

2. Which of the following words best describes Kate’s journey?

A．Risky.

B．Well-planned.

C．Pleasant.

D．Fruitless.

3. What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A．The station-master was unhealthy.	B．The train arrived later than usual.
C．Kate’s efforts paid off.	D．The train failed to stop.

4. What words can be best used to describe Kate?

A．Intelligent and warm-hearted.	B．Brave and kind.
C．Cold but helpful.	D．Proud and confident.