1 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落的开头语续写两段话，使之构成一个完整的故事。

Christmas Day was coming. I was just a kid then, and my big sister told me there was no Santa Claus. I fled to my Grandma because she would be straight with me. I knew Grandma always told me the truth. Grandma was home, and I told her everything. “No Santa Claus?” She shouted. “Ridiculous! Don’t believe it. “Now, put on your coat, and let’s go.”

“Go where, Grandma?” I asked. “Where” turned out to be Kerby’s General Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything. As we walked through its doors, Grandma handed me ten dollars. “Take this money, and buy something for someone who needs it. I’ll wait for you in the car.” Then she turned and walked out of Kerby’s.

I was only eight years old. I’d often gone shopping with my mother, but never had I shopped for anything all by myself. The store seemed big and crowded, full of people competing to finish their Christmas shopping. For a few moments I just stood there, confused, holding that ten-dollar bill, wondering what to buy and who to buy it for. I suddenly thought of Bobby Decker, who was a kid with bad breath and messy hair. He sat right behind me in Mrs. Pollock’s grade-two class. Bobby Decker didn’t have a coat. I knew that because he never went out for break during the winter. His mother always wrote a note, telling the teacher that he had a cough, but we kids knew that Bobby Decker didn’t have a cough, and he didn’t have a coat. I would buy Bobby Decker a coat! I chose a red one, which looked really warm, and he would like that.

“Is this a Christmas present for someone?” the lady behind the counter asked kindly, as I laid ten dollars down. “Yes.”

The nice lady smiled at me, put the coat in a bag and wished me a Merry Christmas.

注意：1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好。
Paragraph 1:

That evening, Grandma helped me wrap (包裹) the coat in Christmas paper.

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Paragraph2:

Grandma and I waited breathlessly for Bobby Decker’s front door to open.

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2 . 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。

Many people have the hobby of collecting things, e.g. stamps, postcards or antiques. In the 18th and 19th centuries,     1     (wealth) people travelled and collected plants, historical objects and works of art. They kept their collection at home until it got too big     2     until they died, and then it was given to a museum. The 80,000 objects collected by Sir Hans Sloane, for example,     3     (form) the core collection of the British Museum     4     opened in 1759.

The parts of a museum open to the public     5     (call) galleries or rooms. Often, only a small part of a museum’s collection     6     (be) on display. Most of it is stored away or used for research.

Many museums are lively places and they attract a lot of visitors. As well as looking at exhibits, visitors can play with computer simulations (模拟) and imagine     7     (they) living at a different time in history or     8    (walk)through a rainforest. At the Jorvik Centre in York, the city’s Viking settlement is recreated, and people experience the sights, sounds and smells of the old town. Historical     9     (accurate) is important but so is entertainment. Museums must compete     10    people’s spare time and money with other amusements. Most museums also welcome school groups and arrange special activities for children.

3 . 假定你是李华，你校交流生John对中国文化很感兴趣。近期你校将面向外国交流生开设中国书法课，请你给他写封邮件，内容包括：
1. 课程的开设目的；
2. 教师简介；
3. 报名时间、地点和方式。
注意：1. 词数100左右，开头和结尾已给出；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
参考词汇：中国书法Chinese calligraphy；交换生exchange students
Dear John,
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Li Hua

4 . In India，one of the most significant festivals is Diwali，which falls between October and November. It’s a five-day celebration that includes good food，fireworks，colored sand，and special candles and lamps.

In honor of Lakshmi，the Hindu goddess of wealth，people make special prayers on the first day to obtain blessings for welfare，succcss，and well-being. People welcome the goddess into their homes by decorating entrances with colorful lanterns and traditional designs. In addition，many people treat themselves to fine jewelry，praying for good fortune. Those who cannot afford so much，seek out cheaper items such as clothes or household goods.

The second day of the festival is called Kali Chaudas. For some，the day provides an opportunity to drive away misfortune from homes and businesses. They decorate their homes with clay lamps and create design patterns called rangoli on the floor using colored powder or sand.

The third day is when the biggest celebrations occur，which begin early in the morning with a visit to a temple to seek the blessings of the goddess. As the sun sets，festival observers light up their homes with small lamps and enjoy delicious traditional foods with their loved ones.

The festival’s fourth day is celebrated in many different ways. Friends and relatives visit with gifts，sweets and best wishes for the season.

And the final day of the festival is called Bhai Oooj. It honors the close bond between brothers and sisters and is observed with traditional ceremonies and more delicious food.

For children in India，Diwali is similar to Christmas. They get all entire week off from school and are treated to gifts，new clothes，amazing food，and，in the past at least，a large number of fireworks. It is no wonder that the festival ranks high among the country’s favorite celebrations.

1. People celebrate the first day of Diwali mainly for______.

A．good fortune.	B．colorful   lanterns
C．expensive jewelry	D．traditional designs

2. What’s the probable purpose of creating“rangoli”on the floor?

A．To design traditional patterns.	B．To produce colored powder or sand.
C．To help get rid of bad luck.	D．To produce an opportunity in business.

3. What is a man likely to do on the last day of the festival?

A．Exchange gifts and best wishes with his loved ones.

B．Be busy decorating his home during the day.

C．Get together with his sisters and brothers.

D．Light up his home with small lamps.

4. Which of the following may not be a reason for children’s love of Diwali?

A．Having a week off.	B．Getting Christmas gifts.
C．Enjoying amazing food.	D．Setting off fireworks.

5 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. What do people usually fill the Easter basket with?

A．Some clothes.

B．Some candies.

C．Some flowers.

2. Where do children look for Easter eggs in America and Belgium?

A．On the lawn and in bushes.

B．On the lawn and under trees.

C．In bushes and under trees.

3. Why do Austrian children sing from door to door?

A．To get colorful eggs.

B．To get flowers.

C．To get fruits.

4. What can we know from the speaker?

A．Easter is the most important holiday in the world.

B．Different countries have different Easter traditions.

C．Easter is celebrated on the same date every year.

6 . Every week in China, millions of people will sit in front of their TVs watching teenagers compete for the title Character Hero, which is a Chinese­style spelling bee (拼写大赛). In this challenge, young competitors must write Chinese characters by hand. To prepare for the competition, the competitors usually spend months studying dictionaries.

Perhaps the show’s popularity should not be a surprise. Along with gunpowder and paper, many Chinese people consider the creation of Chinese calligraphy(书法) to be one of their primary contributions. Unfortunately, all over the country, Chinese people are forgetting how to write their own language without computerized help. Software on smart phones and computers allows users to type in the basic sound of the word using the Latin alphabet (字母). The correct character is chosen from a list. The result? It’s possible to recognize characters without remembering how to write them.

But there’s still hope for the paint brush. China’s Education Ministry wants children to spend more time learning how to write.

In one Beijing primary school we visited, students practice calligraphy every day inside a specially decorated classroom with traditional Chinese paintings hanging on the walls. Soft music plays as a group of six­year­olds dip brush pens into black ink. They look up at the blackboard often to study their teacher’s examples before carefully trying to reproduce those characters on thin rice paper. “If adults can survive without using handwriting, why bother to teach it now?” we ask the calligraphy teacher, Shen Bin. “The ability to write characters is part of Chinese tradition and culture,” she reasons. “Students must learn now so they don’t forget when they grow up.” says the teacher.

1. What can we learn about the Character Hero?

A．It draws great public attention across the country.

B．It’s the most­viewed TV programs in the world.

C．It means to spread Chinese culture to the world.

D．It’s open to people of all ages and all walks.

2. Why are Chinese people forgetting how to write the characters?

A．Chinese people don’t refer to dictionaries very often.

B．Chinese people no longer use brush pens or practice calligraphy.

C．Chinese people are using the Latin alphabet instead of the characters.

D．Chinese people needn’t write by hand as often with the help of technology.

3. According to Shen Bin, being able to write characters by hand is ________.

A．necessary for adults to survive in China

B．a requirement made by the Education Ministry

C．helpful to keep Chinese tradition and culture alive

D．an ability to be developed only when you are students

7 . Some people are so rude. Who sends an e-mail or a text message that just says “Thank you?” Who leaves a voice mail message rather than texts you? Who asks for a fact easily found on the Internet?     1    

Maybe I’m the rude one for not appreciating life’s little courtesies(礼节). But many social norms(规范) just don’t make sense to people drowning in digital communication.

Take the thank-you note. Daniel Post Senning, a coauthor of Emily Post’s Etiquette，asked, “At what point does showing appreciation outweigh the cost?”

    2     Think of how long it takes to listen to one of those messages. In texts, you don’t have to declare who you are or even say hello. E-mail, too, is slower than a text. The worst are those who leave a voice mail and then send an e-mail message to tell you they left a voice mail.

This isn’t the first time technology has changed our manners,     3     Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor, suggested that people say, " Ahoy! "Finally, hello won out, and the victory sped up the greeting's use in face-to-face communications.

In the age of the smart phone, there is no reason to ask once-acceptable questions about:the weather forecast, a business’s phone number, or directions to a house, a restaurant, or an office, which can be easily found on a digital map.     4     And when you answer, they respond with a thank-you e-mail.

How to handle these differing standards? Easy: Consider your audience. Some people,especially older ones, appreciate a thank-you message.     5     In traditional societies, the young learn from the old. But in modern societies, the old can also learn from the young. Here's hoping that politeness never goes out of fashion but that time-wasting forms of communication do.

A. Then there is voice mail.
B. Others, like me, want no reply.
C. But people still ask these things.
D. Don’t these people realize that they’re wasting your time?
E. Won't new technology bring about changes in our daily life?
F. Face-to-face communication makes comprehension much easier.
G. When the telephone was invented, people didn't know how to greet a caller.

8 . UN Chinese Language Day     1     (celebrate) yearly on April 20. This year, Doreen Hynd was among those invitees, who are either experts on the Chinese culture     2     have a special skill related to it.

Hynd astonished all those present while performing Tai Chi,     3     Chinese martial (武术的) art form, at an event held by the UN Tai Chi Club. The audience could hardly believe she was a 93-year-old grandma. It was definitely amazing that she could bend her body and raise her leg so     4     (easy) and keep herself still standing on one leg.

Hynd owes (归功于) all this to her continuous practice of Tai Chi.

Born in Australia in 1925, Hynd began Tai Chi training in her 50s and then moved to the US,     5     she later became an instructor herself.

When     6     (ask) about the greatest benefit she gained from Tai Chi, Hynd said, “balance.” Hynd has been teaching people of all ages and different     7     (culture) backgrounds how to practice Tai Chi. They have benefited greatly from their association with the Chinese culture. They’ve developed a balanced state of mind and improved their health after     8    (month) of practice. Tai Chi allows these people     9    (understand) that, from the perspective（视角）of yin and yang, all things are closely connected with each other. This might be where the attraction of Tai Chi     10    (lie). Hynd enjoys sharing this great gift from China with her students.

9 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。

The word Nushu literally means “women’s writing” in Chinese: As the name suggests, Nushu is created and specially used by women.

Often     1    (call) “the world’s only surviving characters for women”, these slim words were developed from standard written Chinese. In the old days, Nushu     2    ( teach) by elderly women to girls at home because female children weren’t allowed     3    (attend) formal school. During gatherings in villages, women used the characters to write poems or song lyrics to express their emotions     4     were hidden from men. The words were full    5     encouragement and positive energy, and showed an uncommon open-mindedness among women at that time.

Ji Xianlin once said that Nushu is a feminist (女权主义者) symbol. “It’s    6     unique writing system created by    7    (talent) women who were deprived (剥夺) of the right to education,” he wrote in an article. “It has significance in various     8    (field) and represents Chinese people’s strong spirit.”

Nushu was made as a national cultural heritage in 2006. However, it is not     9    (wide) used in daily life today. In fact, it is a dying language. Now linguists are taking action to prevent this incredible cultural heritage from    10    (disappear).

10 . Switzerland is the world’s most famous watchmaker,    1    makes it little surprise that    2    (it) people are the most punctual in the world. For them, being on time is not only a nice thing to do, but it’s a strict    3    (believe) that they build almost every aspect of their lives on.

According to the BBC, everything in Switzerland, from trains and buses    4    personal meetings, is on time. If someone says they are meeting you at 3 pm, they    5    not be there at 2:55 or 3:05 - just 3 pm. It shows “a deep expression of respect for other people”, US writer Eric Weiner, who    6    (recent) traveled to Switzerland, wrote for BBC News. “A punctual person is a     7    (consider) one. By showing up on time for everything, a Swiss person is expressing he values your time and, by extension, he values you.”

This valuable quality of Swiss people    8    (report) to originate from the country’s mountain areas. Due to poor weather, people had to plant and harvest crops exactly on time,    9    they would have nothing to eat.

However, being punctual also has its problems. Since everybody has their lunch at exactly 12 and takes their coffee break at 4 pm, elevators and coffee shops all tend    10    (be) full at the same time.