1 . As China’s first ever full-time Formula One (世界一级方程式锦标赛) driver, Zhou Guanyu makes a living by doing the sort of things many people can only dream about: traveling the world and racing in a fast car.

“I think the only ______ between Formula One and a roller coaster is that you have to be ______ where you’re going, and you have to be at 100% of yourself,” Zhou told CNN.

Zhou has been putting his all into ______ since he was a young boy ______ in Shanghai. Today, Zhou is predicted to become F1’s answer to Yao Ming, who is often praised for making basketball ______ in China.

It was back in Shanghai in 2004 that-at just 5 years old-Zhou ______ Rubens Barrichello win the first ever Chinese Grand Prix on TV. The moment helped to ______ his interest in racing and has ______ with him ever since, he said.

There was a ______ of Chinese racing role models, so he ______ a path of his own. A very important moment in his racing life came at age 12, when he ______ Shanghai for Sheffield in the United Kingdom to ______ his development with the strawberry Racing Krting team. The move put him on the road to achieving his ambitions.

Zhou is often ______ to the former NBA player Yao Ming, who is also a sport star from Shanghai. “Who knows, maybe in 10 years’ time. I could have the same ______. And that is my aim ______,” he said.

1.

A．problem

B．difference

C．difficulty

D．importance

2.

A．guessing

B．controlling

C．proving

D．declaring

3.

A．reading

B．playing

C．driving

D．swimming

4.

A．growing up

B．getting up

C．going up

D．staying up

5.

A．simple

B．interesting

C．available

D．popular

6.

A．watched

B．followed

C．researched

D．examined

7.

A．lose

B．stress

C．develop

D．measure

8.

A．stayed

B．dealt

C．fought

D．taken

9.

A．way

B．lack

C．role

D．loss

10.

A．received

B．imagined

C．composed

D．created

11.

A．reached

B．chose

C．left

D．forgot

12.

A．continue

B．discover

C．consider

D．manage

13.

A．matched

B．compared

C．adapted

D．devoted

14.

A．career

B．hobby

C．influence

D．result

15.

A．normally

B．naturally

C．regularly

D．definitely

2 . The words you use say a lot about you. Knowing which word to use and understanding how to use them are both key to communicating effectively and accurately. People often say in disappointment, “    1    ” If the right words aren’t there, the right ideas can’t get through. Your vocabulary is the foundation of your ability to share your thoughts with other people. When you improve your vocabulary, you will improve the ability to express your ideas.

    2     Saying this, they usually mean that he or she uses a lot of important-sounding words - words like jactitation, demulcent, and saxicolous. But a vocabulary consisting of words like these isn’t necessarily a “good” vocabulary. Why? Because almost no one knows what jactitation, demulcent, and saxicolous mean.     3     Chances are that no one listening to you would know what you were talking about. Big, difficult words have important uses, but improving a vocabulary involves much more than merely decorating your writing with a few big words.

    4     You speak and write in order to make yourselves understood. A good vocabulary is one that makes communication easy and efficient. One mark of an effective speaker or writer is his or her ability to express complex ideas with relatively simple words.

The best way to improve your vocabulary isn’t to look through a handful of unfamiliar big words.     5    

A．Learning new words isn’t that hard.

B．I know what I mean, but I don’t know how to say it.

C．If you use these words in conversation, what will happen?

D．Sometimes people say that someone has a good vocabulary.

E．The goal of communication is to express your ideas clearly.

F．Speaking or writing well doesn’t require a good vocabulary.

G．Instead, you need to master the words often used in communication.

3 . 语法填空

For many years, human beings have been trying to conquer nature, but never succeeded. What’s worse, nature has got angry. It often shows     1     (it) power and teaches human beings different lessons in various     2     (way), such as earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, sandstorms, typhoons, droughts, landslides, tornadoes, and volcanoes. Any of them can cause terrible disasters. For example, on March 11, 2011,     3     huge earthquake struck Japan,     4     (cause) a terrible tsunami. Many cars, ships and buildings     5     (ruin) by a ten-metre-high wall of water. Thousands of people were confirmed dead. The total energy released by the quake was equivalent to the explosion of 6.7 trillion tons of TNT,     6     is about a thousand times the total power of all the world’s nuclear weapons. Another event was the “huge volcanic eruption in Iceland” in 2010. It caused enormous damage to air travel across western and northern Europe because     7     the large quantities of volcanic ash. All of these show how     8     (power) nature is.

Compared with the great power of nature, human beings are so weak and even so helpless in face of the destruction caused by natural disasters. It would be unwise of us     9     (fight) against or even try to conquer nature. On the contrary, we should try to learn how to live with nature     10     (peaceful).

4 . 将语篇中的中文句子翻译成英文

A Four-legged Guardian Angel

I just finished cleaning up the snow in the pool in preparation for selling the house. The year before, I had lost my job with the provincial government, and now we almost ran out of all of our savings,     1    (这意味着我将同时失去我们美丽的房子和挚爱的伙伴Brigitte). This thought nearly knocked me down.

Deep in sadness, I sat typing up resumes for job. Out of the corner of my eye I could see my thirteen-month-old son Forrest playing near our big, gentle, intelligent dog Brigitte. And I recalled this family. the scene of adopting him on a cold winter night. It seemed as if Brigitte was always meant to be in this family.

Thinking of these, I couldn’t help letting out a sigh and continued working. Suddenly, Brigitte began barking furiously and running back and forth to the glass door overlooking our pool. I raced to see what was happening.     2    (既吃惊又害怕，我发现玻璃门打开了，Forrest也不见了). In panic, I ran outside. There, I was surprised to see Brigitte, who was terrified of water, dive into the pool. Looking in the direction of his moving, I was shocked to find Forrest struggling in the water     3    (我立刻跳入水中，朝着Forrest 游去，并将他抱起). After getting him out or the pool, I dialed 911 with shaking hand while giving Forres t first aid. Moments later, an ambulance arrived and rushed us to the hospital, where the doctors gave him a thorough check While waiting for the result, I made up my mind     4    (尽管我们家经济状况不好，我也永远不会舍弃Brigitte)

Finally, we arrived home, safe and sound. On seeing us, Brigitte began barking excitedly and turning in circles cheerfully Since then, Brigitte never left my son an inch.     5    (Brigitte确确实实是我们一家的守护天使).

The swimming pool witnessed the close bond formed between my families and Brigitte.

参考词汇/结构：
①companion; ②frightened; ③immediately, lift. . . up; ④despite;⑤it was. . . who

5 . Bright and early on the morning of our first full day in Antarctica (南极洲), L’ Austral’s Captain Fabien’s voice woke us up as it came through a loudspeaker. If we looked outside right now, he said, we’d see a beautiful sea of icebergs (冰山) in the golden sunlight. My sister and I jumped out of bed, staring in amazement as we sailed past giant pieces of ice. In the distance, we spotted a group of humpback whales feeding on smaller fishes. Next door, my parents were also waking up to the sights of a new day in Antarctica. Over breakfast, my sister and I excitedly told them about the whales we saw from our room that morning.

You might not immediately think “family vacation” when talking about a trip to Antarctica, but tour companies like Adventures by Disney are changing that. The company offers guided group trips to destinations across all seven continents in the world.

Our adventure started when we flew to Buenos Aires and explored the beautiful Argentine capital for a day. After leaving Buenos Aires, we flew to Ushuaia on an Adventures by Disney plane. Then, it was the journey toward the Drake Passage. After a speedy Drake Passage crossing, we reached Antarctica early, adding a half day to our scheduled four days on and around the continent.

To those unfamiliar with Adventures by Disney, the fact that you can experience Antarctica — the most distant, extreme continent — with Disney might be surprising. During the trip, there were thoughtful acts, from stamped postcards to send from an Antarctica post office to a champagne (香槟) party on our final stop of the journey; Adventures by Disney truly thought of everything for us. Antarctica is a life-changing destination packed with experiences that can’t be copied. We experienced Drake Passage seasickness, hiked up ice hills alongside lovely animals, and had a taste of champagne. And honestly, it’s going to be hard for the next family trip we take to compete.

1. Why did Fabien speak to passengers early in the morning?

A．To ask them to remain seated.

B．To wake them up for breakfast.

C．To warn them of possible dangers.

D．To remind them of the beautiful sights outside.

2. What does the underlined word “that” in paragraph 2 probably refer to?

A．Visiting Antarctica with children being a good idea.

B．Most people not being able to enjoy family vacations.

C．Most people not considering Antarctica as a family vacation place.

D．A guided trip being an uncomfortable way to explore a new destination.

3. What is paragraph 3 mainly about?

A．What the author had learned during the journey.

B．How the author and his family traveled to Antarctica.

C．What the author and his family had seen in Antarctica.

D．How the author felt about the Drake Passage crossing.

4. What does the author think of their trip to Antarctica?

A．It was tiring but extreme.

B．More time should be added to it.

C．It was a family journey of a lifetime.

D．There should be more thoughtful acts.

6 . In which city did the woman and John stay the longest?

A．Paris.

B．Rome.

C．Vienna.

7 . Not all birds sing, but those that do—some several thousand species—do it a lot.

Iris Adam, a scientist at the University of Southern Denmark says, birds have “a drive to sing”. This means hours every day for some species, and that takes a lot of energy. However, singing can be dangerous. “As soon as you sing, you show yourself, for example, where you are and that you even exist—all of that immediately is out in the open for predators (捕食性动物) , for everybody,” she says.

In a new study published in the journal Nature Communications, Adam and her colleagues offer a new explanation for why birds take that risk and whether the muscles (肌肉) that produce birdsong require daily exercise. Adam designed an experiment on zebra finches—little Australian songbirds. Her experiment included keeping male birds in the dark to sever the connection between their brains and-their singing muscles, which prevented them from singing.

After a week, the birds’ singing muscles lost half of their strength. Three weeks later, they were back to the same level when they were juveniles (幼鸟) and never had sung before. When Adam played one of the male’s songs for: a group of female birds, six out of nine preferred the song that came from a male who had been using his singing muscles daily.

Adam’s conclusion (结论) is that songbirds need to exercise their singing muscles to produce top-performance song. If they don’t sing, they lose performance, and their songs get less attractive to females, which is bad.

“What they stress is that you need a lot of practice to improve what you’re doing,” says Ana Amador, a scientist at the University of Buenos Aires. It’s a good rule to live by, whether you’re a bird or a human—practice makes perfect, at least when it comes to singing one’s heart out.

1. Why can singing be dangerous for birds?

A．They can drive predators to sing.	B．They never protect their areas.
C．Their singing can attract predators.	D．Singing does damage to their muscles.

2. What does the underlined word “sever” probably mean in paragraph 3?

A．Remember.

B．End.

C．Risk.

D．Keep.

3. What do we know about Adam’s experiment?

A．It mainly focused on male birds and juveniles.

B．It aimed to protect zebra finches from possible risks.

C．It strengthened birds’ singing muscles in four weeks.

D．It proved exercising singing muscles matters to birds.

4. Which is the most suitable title for the text?

A．Iris Adam’s work is a big success	B．Singing can be dangerous for birds
C．Birds sing to keep muscles in shape	D．Birds and human beings need practice

8 . Zebby beat thousands of others and won the title of National Cat of the Year, an award given by Cats Protection, a charity that rescues and rehomes cats. To win the award, Zebby first won the Family Fur-ever category, which honors cats that “make a family complete”.

Zebby’s owner, 66-year-old Genevieve Moss, lives alone in the UK, aside from her animal friend, of course. Living alone can be troublesome and her problems were further worsened by the fact that she can’t hear anything without her hearing aid. Once, she was robbed in the middle of the night. “I used to be scared to go to sleep, and I used to lie awake. But now, with Zebby, I can rest easily,” said Moss.

Zebby warns her of different sounds in their home. He also fetches the mail for Moss and drops it into the bedroom. He even takes her slippers (拖鞋) to her. “He seems to know that when the phone rings, he needs to tell me. At nighttime, if my security light goes on, he will wake me up by hitting my face gently. Sometimes to protect me, Zebby takes up his position at the front door to tell me it’s not happening when I try to leave the house,” Moss said.

“I am so proud of Zebby for showing the world how caring cats can be, and what a positive effect they can have on people’s lives,” she said. “I can’t imagine life without Zebby and I’m over the moon about his being honored with the National Cat Awards.”

Cats Protection’s National Cat Awards organizer Ashley Fryer said, “From the moment we read his entry form, we knew Zebby was something special. He is clearly devoted to Moss and their story highlights the powerful bond that exists between people and their cats. He shows a shining example of the joy and comfort a cat can bring.”

1. What can we infer about Zebby?

A．He was once a homeless cat.

B．He helped prevent a robbery.

C．He is highly sensitive to sounds.

D．He gives Moss a feeling of security.

2. To Moss, Zebby fails to play the role of __________.

A．a cleaner

B．a watchman

C．a companion

D．a postman

3. What does the underlined phrase “over the moon” probably mean in the fourth paragraph?

A．Inspired.

B．Astonished.

C．Moved.

D．Excited.

4. Which can be the best title of the text?

A．Amazing Cat Making a Family Complete

B．Award-winning Cat Listening for His Owner

C．National Title Awarded to a Rehomed Cat

D．Special Bond Formed Between Cat and Human

9 . Imagine you need milk, so you go to the grocery store to pick some up, only to find there are dozens of options. These days, you have to make a decision on not only the percentage of fat you want, but also what source you want your milk to be coming from: cows, soybeans... You have no idea what milk to pick. There are so many choices that you are confused.

This phenomenon is known as the paradox (悖论) of choice and it is becoming a concern in the modern world, where more and more options are becoming easily available to us. While we might believe that being presented with multiple options actually makes it easier to choose one that we are happy with, and thus increases consumer satisfaction, having too many options actually requires more effort to make a decision and can leave us feeling unsatisfied with our choice.

The idea was popularized by American psychologist Barry Schwartz when he published his book, The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less. Schwartz, who has long studied the ways in which economics and psychology intersect (交叉), became interested in seeing the way that choices were affecting the happiness of citizens in Western societies. He identified that the range of choices that we have available to us these days is far greater than that people had in the past; however, consumer satisfaction has not increased as much as traditional economics theories might expect.

Schwartz identified that the paradox of choice carries the most consequence for people that are maximizers. Maximizers, unlike satisficers, are concerned with making the best choice instead of simply making a choice that they are happy with. When there are many options available to maximizers, it becomes harder for them to determine which is the best, which can cause them to feel a great deal of regret after they have made a choice.

Instead of believing that freedom of choice is unlimited, Schwartz advocates that the role of psychology and behavioral economics should be to find the kind of limitations on freedom that can lead to the greatest level of happiness within society.

1. What’s the author’s purpose in mentioning buying milk in paragraph 1?

A．To lead in the topic.

B．To draw a conclusion.

C．To show that we have more choices when shopping.

D．To indicate that people pay greater attention to health when shopping.

2. What does the paradox of choice suggest?

A．More options mean less satisfaction.

B．Consumer satisfaction has greatly increased.

C．People are happy with more choices.

D．Modern people are happier than their ancestors.

3. What can be learned about satisficers?

A．They aim for the very best.	B．They tend to follow their feelings.
C．They often regret their decisions.	D．They have trouble making a decision.

4. What does Schwartz suggest people do?

A．Hold on to their beliefs.	B．Accept their own behavior.
C．Give up freedom.	D．Limit their own choices.

10 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

That was the night before Christmas, and all through my head, were the three words my friend Julia said, “Santa’s not real.”

It was 1994, and at age nine I was way too old to still believe in Santa Claus. And yet, blindsided by Julia’s response to my deep love for Santa that year, I doubled down and branded (加污名于) Julia a liar. After all, movies had taught me that Christmas magic was more important than what I’d already begun doubting as fact. What did she know, anyway?

But by Christmas Eve, I realized that Julia wasn’t wrong; that there was no way the Santa I was looking at while standing next to my parents could possibly make it to the North Pole and back to Cambridge, Ontario, by nightfall.

My dad headed off to buy a new suit for the holidays, and my mum led me to Shoppers Drug Mart. I looked at the chocolate while listening to the Christmas music playing over the store speakers. With each mention of Santa Claus or red-nosed reindeer I started to feel warm. I silently followed my mum up to the check-out counter, and felt the words rising, knowing there’d be no turning back once they came out.

“Mum,” I said, as the cashier rang us through. “Are you and Dad Santa?”

The cashier began scanning (扫描) items faster and faster, her widened eyes stuck to the digital display. I didn’t wait for a response before pressing on. “Is Santa real?”

The cashier was moving at record speed, and couldn’t wait to get me away. My mother, forever honest, simply looked at me. “Well, sweetie, what do you think?”

That was enough. I wan’t stupid. “SANTA’S NOT REAL!” I cried. By the time we made it to the car, I was crying quietly, looking out of the car window, vowing (发誓) never to forget the pain their lies had caused.

注意：
1.续写词数应为 150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

At home, I sat sadly on the living room floor.

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I certainly didn’t want to ruin my little cousin’s Christmas.

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