1 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. What is the most popular way to welcome the new year in the US?

A．Traveling abroad

B．Meeting friends

C．Holding a big party

2. Where does the biggest New year party take place in the US?

A．In Disneyland

B．In Times Square

C．In Hollywood

3. When did Guy Lombardo first give a concert on New year's Eve

A．In1929

B．In1939

C．In1977

4. Who continues the tradition with a band concert after Guy Lombardo died?

A．Elvis Presley.

B．Bill Lombardo

C．Johann Strauss

2 . Chicago festival season is here, but are you ready? Music festivals, film series, street fests, beer bashes – it’s a summer long party. So pull out your calendar, read our guide and start enjoying weekends.

♦Friday Art Markets at Daley Plaza

Select Fridays August 19 through September

Daley Plaza

Cost: Free

Directions: Nearly 75 artists will be showing their work in Daley Plaza, including jewelry, ceramics, sculpture, paintings, glass, wearables, wood and mixed media.

Website: http://www.FridayArtMarketsaDaleyPlaza php?sid=146320

♦Renegade Chicago Pop-Up

Sept. 9-10

Pilsen

Cost: Free

Directions: Get your hands on the goods at this outdoor celebration of all things handmade. Festivities include food trucks, DJ sets, craft brews, DIY workshops, photo ops and shopping.

Website: http://www.RenegadeChicagoPop-Up php?sid=146346

♦Millennium Park Summer Music Series

Select Mondays and Thursday June 12 through Aug. 21

Millennium Park

Cost: Free

Directions: Grab a blanket and some picnic snacks for a free outdoor concert in the park. The music series features a wide variety of music from top local, national and international artists.

Website: http://www.MillenniumParkSummerMusicSeries php?sid=146432

♦Northsider Craft Beer Fest

Sept 23

Uptown

Cost: $15 - $69

Directions: Spend a day on the green sampling beers and hard ciders （苹果汁）from breweries across the country, including Colorado, Michigan, California and Wisconsin – and let’s not forget those in our own home state, too.

Website: http://www.NorthsiderCraftBeerFest php?sid=146467

1. What can you buy when you visit Friday Art Markets at Daley Plaza?

A．Art works.	B．Beers.
C．Picnic snacks.	D．Fruit juice.

2. In which festival do people have to pay?

A．Friday Art Markets at Daley Plaza.	B．Renegade Chicago Pop-Up.
C．Millennium Park Summer Music Series.	D．Northsider Craft Beer Fest.

3. Which of the following lasts more than two months?

A．Friday Art Markets at Daley Plaza.	B．Renegade Chicago Pop-Up.
C．Millennium Park Summer Music Serie.	D．Northsider Craft Beer Fest.

3 . 假设你是高一学生李华，你的外国朋友Tom的中文取得很大的进步，且对中国文学有着深厚的兴趣，他想买一本书，请你写一封e-mail，向他推荐一本书，并写出推荐的理由。
内容包括：1. 推荐的书名；

2. 推荐这本书的三个主要原因；

3. 重申这本书的优点。

注意：1. 词数100左右；

2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

Dear Tom,
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

Yours sincerely,

Li Hua

4 . Winter solstice(冬至), an important solar term in the traditional Chinese calendar, as the name implies, means the coming of winter. It generally occurs between December 21st and 23rd. According to the traditional Chinese calendar, one year is divided into twenty-four solar terms. On this day, in the Northern Hemisphere the period of daytime is the shortest of the year and the period of night is the longest.

In Northern China there is a custom of eating dumplings during winter solstice. The tradition of eating dumplings during winter solstice has its origin in early times. It is said that dumplings were invented by Zhang Zhongjing, a well-known doctor from the Eastern-Han Dynasty.

One winter, he noticed that many people’s ears were frozen, which made him sad. In order to prevent and cure the freezing injury caused by the cold, he asked his followers to boil mutton, chilies and other ingredients with medicinal properties in a pot for fending off cold. After these were boiled, they ladled(舀取) the mutton and other ingredients out of the pot, cut them into pieces, and then wrapped them with dough skins in the shape of ears. Afterward, they put these into pots to boil again.

On the day of the winter solstice, the people whose ears were frozen were sent to eat the dumplings. People who ate it felt warm from head to toe and had their cold injury healed. Thereafter, every winter solstice people ate dumplings. Then there became a saying that if you eat dumplings during the winter solstice, then you won’t freeze your ears off.

Afterwards, Zhang Zhongjing died on the day of winter solstice. In order to honor him, every year on the day of the winter solstice every household makes dumplings.

1. Which of the following should be the best title of the passage?

A．The Custom Of Eating Dumplings	B．The Inventor Of Dumplings
C．The Importance Of Eating Dumplings	D．The Origin Of Winter Solstice

2. According to the passage, people make dumplings to eat every winter solstice because __________.

A．they want to honor Zhang Zhongjing, who invented dumplings to cure peoples freezing injury

B．they want to celebrate the important solar term in the traditional Chinese calendar

C．dumplings boiled with mutton, chilies and other ingredients with medicinal properties taste delicious

D．they can feel warm from head to toe and have their freezing injury healed

3. What does the underlined phrase “fending off” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Put off.	B．Put out.
C．Keep up.	D．Keep out.

4. According to the passage, which is TRUE about the following description?

A．Winter solstice is the most important among twenty-four solar terms.

B．Australia in the Southern Hemisphere has the longest period of daytime on Winter Solstice.

C．If people don’t eat dumplings, they will have their ears frozen off.

D．China has the longest period of daytime on Winter Solstice.

5 . 假如你是李华，下个月8号是你的加拿大笔友Smith的生日，你给他寄了200克中国绿茶作为礼物。请你给他写一封信，要点如下：
1.向他表达生日祝福；
2.介绍中国的茶文化（4000多年历史、种类繁多、好处等）；
3.希望他将来有机会来中国时体验中国茶文化，请他介绍加拿大咖啡文化。
注意：
1.词数100左右（开头结尾已给出，不计入词数）；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Smith,

How time flies!

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Li Hua

6 . 假如你是李华，请给外教Trey写封邮件介绍清明节（Tomb Sweeping Day），内容包括：
1．活动时间；
2．活动内容。
注意：1. 词数100左右；

2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文流畅；

3. 开头已给出。

Dear Trey,

I’m writing to_____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Li Hua

7 . For those who travel to China, the scenic spots and ancient civilization are     1     (attract) things, and so is Chinese food and drink. Like music, dance and painting, eating is also an art in China and Chinese cuisine     2     (list) as one of the top in the field of world cuisines.

Nobody could tell exactly how many restaurants a specific city has, let alone the roadside eateries (饭馆)     3     (distribute) in streets and back lanes. Wherever you would like to eat, in the restaurants     4    the roadside eateries, make sure that the restaurant is clean and the food has been     5     (fresh) prepared and is hot.

Chinese regard eating as an art,     6    is a comprehensive combination of sight, smell, touch, taste and even sound. Chinese cuisine is an important branch from the Chinese culture and the core is taste while the purpose is     7     (preserve) health.

It is a perfect combination of color, shape,     8     (appear )and flavor. Delicious and nutritious food has been regarded the basics of ordinary life.

Chinese cuisine has a long history and is famous worldwide     9    its rich tastes and delightful colors. The difference in local climate, history and eating customs in each region has produced local dishes and snacks with their own     10     (characteristic).

8 . After shopping for deals in stores on “Black Friday”, or online on “Cyber Monday”, Americans and people worldwide are preparing for newly popular “Giving Tuesday”. Starting in 2012, now the global event that is celebrated annually on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving is the brainchild of 92nd Street Y, a cultural center in New York City and United Nations Foundation.

As the name indicates, Giving Tuesday is meant to restart the charitable season and therefore observed by raising funds for local nonprofits and schools, organizing food and clothing drives, and conducting random acts of kindness. In 2015, 700, 000 people from 71 countries came together to donate $116.7 million in cash. An additional $1.08 million was spent on gifts.

While the easiest way to participate is by donating to your favorite charity, this day can be celebrated in many other ways too. You can give back by volunteering at your local shelter or food bank, or even by donating blood. If all else fails, a purchase from the growing number of organizations that give a portion of their sales to charity will do the trick.

But perhaps the best way to celebrate the day is by helping those nearest and dearest to you. Assist a family member with a simple chore like folding laundry, cooking dinner, or even reading to a younger sibling. No matter what you do, be sure to share you good deed on social media and inspire others to celebrate Giving Tuesday as well!

1. Which of the following has the shortest history?

A．Cyber Monday	B．Giving Tuesday
C．Black Friday	D．Thanksgiving Day

2. What’s the main purpose of “Giving Tuesday”?

A．To persuade more people to shop online

B．To make Thanksgiving Day enjoyable

C．To encourage more people to do charities

D．To get voluntary work better known

3. Why does the author advise sharing good deeds on social media?

A．To donate money to local schools

B．To keep a record of one’s experience

C．To help people make new friends

D．To make Giving Tuesday more popular

4. Which section of a website does the next probably come from?

A．Business	B．Lifestyle
C．Education	D．Culture

9 . A greeting card is a printed message, or thought, which we send to other people. There is     1     (usual) a picture on the front and a message inside the card. The custom of sending greeting cards can date back     2     about 5000 B.C. Greeting cards also played     3     important part in the holiday of Valentine’s day     4     people would send messages to     5     sweethearts. The first printed cards were found in Europe in 1400’s. Europeans sent these     6     (card) as New Year’s greetings. The modern greeting card     7     (become) popular in the late 1800’s. Today greeting cards can     8     (find) for civil and religious holidays, anniversaries, birthdays and just about any occasion you can think of. With the     9     (develop) of technology, e-cards have appeared. More people are becoming interested in     10     (use) digital media instead of paper or other traditional materials.

10 . Circles can be found everywhere in the natural world, but with no accurate way to measure them they are very mysterious and might never be fully understood. When you take the distance around a circle and divide it by the distance across a circle, you will always get Pi(∏). While Pi is equal to about 3.14 when rounded, it is infinitely long. With the help of computers, mathematicians have been able to calculate Pi out to over a trillion decimal(小数) places. This makes Pi puzzling, even to the most famous mathematicians.

Pi Day is celebrated globally on March 14, since the way we write this date, 3/14, looks just like Pi when rounded. In 2009, U. S. Congress voted to officially make March 14 Pi Day. Certain parts of the world—places where March 14 is written as 14/3—will instead celebrate Pi Approximation Day which takes place on July 22^nd because of the result of 22/7.

Pi has appeared in movies, comics, music, and more. “In modern movies, any time the filmmaker wants to create a sense of mystery, the symbol Pi is used,” says Blatner. People also love working to memorize the digits(数位) of Pi and competing against others to see who can remember most. The Guinness World Record for reciting the most digits of Pi is held by Lu Chao of China, who successfully recited Pi to nearly 67,000 decimal places.

Above all, Pi Day is about having fun with the number, according to Blatner. People will celebrate Pi Day by eating pie and throwing pie, and with fun Pi-related games. Princeton, New Jersey holds a series of Pi-related festivities. Events this year include a surprise birthday party for Albert Einstein whose birthday also falls on March 14, and a “Walk a Pi Event” where participants will walk 3.14 miles together. Just like the number itself, the possibilities for Pi Day are truly endless.

1. What makes Pi mysterious?

A．Ways to divide a circle.

B．Ways to use it when rounded.

C．Inability to write it as an expression.

D．Its plentiful decimal places.

2. Why is Pi Day celebrated in some places on July 22^nd?

A．Because it is voted officially.

B．Because it was corrected originally.

C．Because the division result is approximately equal to Pi.

D．Because that day is easier to remember.

3. What is the goal of using Pi in films according to Blatner?

A．To move more viewers.

B．To call for viewers’ attention.

C．To make the films more frightening.

D．To add something mysterious to the film.

4. What can we learn from the text?

A．Lu Chao is the first Chinese to recite Pi.

B．Many states in the USA celebrate Pi day on July 22nd.

C．There are many different events to celebrate Pi Day in the world.

D．Scientists will try their best to figure out the digits of Pi thoroughly.