1 . The Spring Festival is    1    most important festival in China. It is meant    2    (celebrate) the lunar calendar's new year. During the Spring Festival, families get together and have a big meal in many place.    3    many people like best is setting off fireworks, which is one of the most popular activities during the festival, though it may cause air pollution. Dumplings are the most    4    (tradition) food. Children are fond    5    the festival very much, when they can have delicious food and wear new clothes. They can also get some money from their parents,    6    Is given to children for good luck. People put new year scrolls (春联) on the wall for good fortune. The Spring Festival    7    (last) about 15 days long when people visit relatives and friends    8    (happy) with the words "Best wishes". Nowadays more and more people are enjoying the Spring Festival around the world. People hold the    9    (believe) that the Spring Festival and other traditional Chinese festivals will not    10    (replace)by the foreign festivals like Christmas.

2 . 假如你是李华，你的英国网友Tom打算抽空到中国学习太极( Tai Chi)，他写信向你求助,请你根据下列要点给对方写一封回信：
1.介绍学太极好处；
2.负责联系学习地点和老师。
注意:1.词数100左右；信的开头已经写好。

2.可适当增加细节,以使行文连贯。

Dear Tom,
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Yours,

Li Hua

3 . In some western countries, March 14 is celebrated as Pi Day,     1     day to honor the number that many people are familiar with. The date comes from the first three number of Pi: March is the third month,     2     (follow) by the one and four that make 14. Pi     3     (appear) wherever there are circles. Pi is a ratio. It measures the     4     (distant) around a circle to its diameter(直径).

A website, Piday.org, shows little known facts about the number. Pi has been     5     (universal) known for thousands of years and gets its name from a Greek letter,. The     6     (Greek) are believed to have used the letter to describe the ratio. The first Pi Day     7     (celebrate) on March 14, 1988 in San Francisco’s Exploratorium Science Museum,     8     which the museum becomes well-known, according to the site. The museum marks the day with a daylong celebration     9     (include) a parade.

March 14 has other scientific links. It is the birthday of physicist and Nobel Prize winner Albert Einstein. Princeton University,     10     Einstein lived for many years, celebrates Pi Day as well.

4 . 假如你是李华。得知你的外国笔友Jimmy将在今年除夕前到你所在的城市旅游，你写信告诉他：

1.欢迎他到你家过年；

2.说一说你有什么样的计划安排。

注意：

1.词数100左右；

2.可以适当添加细节，使行文连贯；

3.已给出的部分不算词数。

Dear Jimmy,

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Yours’

Li Hua

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 . Some idiomatic phrases in English, often used in both spoken and written language, are very confusing! They don’t even make sense when you first see them. However, using one of these phrases correctly when speaking or writing to an English speaker is very impressive and shows that you are comfortable with the language. Here are some wonderful and interesting British idioms. Use them wisely.

When pigs fly!

This expression is one of my favorites and I use it all the time. It is used primarily when speaking, meaning that something is extremely unlikely or impossible. For example, “I will forgive him when pigs fly!” “When do you think you will get a gym membership, Lucy?” “When pigs fly!”

A penny for your thoughts?

This question is used in a situation where someone appears thoughtful or is very quiet seeming lost in thought. But remember that you don’t actually have to pay them a penny if they do tell you what is going on! For example, “You’ve been a bit quiet this evening, Pete. A penny for your thoughts?”

It’s the bee’s knees

The phrase dates back to the 1920s, and refers to an extraordinary person, thing, idea, and so on. For example, “Try this chocolate. It’s the bee’s knees.”

To feel a bit under the weather

I use this expression in many different situations but most use it to refer to feeling ill, or unwell. You would not use this phrase if you were feeling extremely unwell. It is only for those times when you are feeling a little ill or suffering from something slightly like a cold or a cough. However, this can also be used to refer to feeling emotionally low.

1. What will you say if you think something is special?

A．When pigs fly!	B．A penny for your thoughts?
C．It’s the bee’s knees	D．To feel a bit under the weather.

2. Which of the following sentence can replace “A penny for your thoughts?”

A．What can I do for you?	B．What are you thinking about?
C．How are you feeling?	D．How do you like it?

3. Why does the author write the passage?

A．To introduce some useful idioms.	B．To show how to remember idioms.
C．To tell people the importance of idioms.	D．To arouse the interest in idioms.

7 . National Symbols

When many people in the west think of China, the animal that they think of is the dragon.     1    Many popular legends tell of how dragons killed brave knights and ate beautiful maidens.

For Chinese people, however, the dragon is not an evil monster.     2    The dragon’s main task is to create harmony and bring rain. Dragons are celebrated in art and architecture, and of course the dragon dance is a very popular ritual. Millions of Chinese have the word “long”, meaning dragon, as part of their name.

    3    Wales, one of the four countries in the UK, has a red dragon proudly displayed on its flag. The only other country in the world with a dragon on its flag is Bhutan, the tiny country, between China and India.

Almost all countries in the world have an animal symbol represent the country, and it is particularly obvious during sports. The English see lions as brave, proud animals and the England football teams have three lions on the front of their football shirts.     4     The national rugby team is more commonly known as the Wallabies, a kind of small kangaroo.

All countries are proud of their symbols, which they feel reflect national characteristics. Recently, a professor claimed that using the dragon as a national symbol could make western countries have a negative view of China.     5    As Chinese culture attains its worldwide popularity, people in the west will no doubt want China to keep the dragon too.

A．Australia is famous for kangaroos, of course.

B．There are many other countries to use animal symbols.

C．China isn’t the only country to have the dragon as its symbol.

D．It’s a cultural and spiritual symbol for prosperity and good luck.

E．For them, the dragon is an aggressive monster that breathes fire.

F．The kangaroo is not only loved, but highly respected in Australia.

G．But in an Internet survey, 90% of Chinese people wanted to keep the dragon.

8 . Different Cultures

The cultures of the East and the West really distinguish each other a lot.     1    .

The origin of the Eastern culture is mainly from two countries: China and India. Both of the two cultures are developed by rivers—the Yellow River in China and the Hindu River in India.     2    .

When the two mother rivers gave birth to the Eastern culture, another famous culture was brought up on the Mesopotamian Plain—the Mesopotamian Civilization. This civilization later on developed into the cultures of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.     3    Like the Chinese culture, the European culture also crossed waters. When the British settled down in America, their culture went with them over the Atlanta Ocean. So the American culture doesn’t distinguish from the European culture a lot.

At the same time, some other differences add to the cultural differences. Take the language system for example. In the East, most languages belong to the pictographic language while the Western languages are mostly based on the Latin system. Other causes like human race differences count as well. But what’s more, due to the far distance and the steep areas between the East and the West, the two cultures seldom communicate until recent centuries.     4    

The differences are everywhere.     5    But different cultures make the world of 21st century more colorful. The cultural gap should not be the obstacle to the civilization of human being. It ought to be the motivation of our going farther.

A．Let us work together to keep a variety of cultures.

B．And these two are well- known as the base of the European culture.

C．One important thing is to learn about other cultures.

D．This is because the culture systems are two separate systems on the whole.

E．They are obvious and affect people’s ways of thinking and their views of the world.

F．They helped the two cultures develop for centuries and form their own styles.

G．So they grew up totally in their own ways with almost no interference from the other.

9 . 假定你是李华，你的美国朋友Ben最近对中国古典文学兴趣浓厚，请你给他写一封电子邮件，并向他推荐一部代表性小说作品――――《西游记》。要点如下：
1.简单介绍小说背景及内容
2.对主要人物之一―――唐僧的看法；
3.欢迎随时探讨读书心得。
注意：1.词数100左右；2.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；3.开头不计入总词数。
提示词汇：中国古典文学Chinese classics               《西游记》Journey to the West
唐僧Priest Tang   佛经Buddhist scriptures
注意：1. 词数100左右；2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文流畅。
Dear Ben,

I’m glad to know that

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Li Hua

10 . 假定你是李华，打算邀请你在武汉留学的英国朋友Leslie与你全家共度中秋节。写一封邮件告知他相关事宜。内容包括：
1时间（10月4日）；
2简要介绍中秋节；
3你们家过节安排。
注意：
1词数100左右；
2可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Leslie,
                                                                        
                                                                        

Yours,

Li Hua