2 . Mark Twain left school when he was twelve. He had little school education. In spite of this, he became the most famous writer of his time. He made millions of dollars by writing. His real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens, but he is better known all over the world as Mark Twain, his pen name.

Mark Twain was born in 1835 and he was not a healthy baby. In fact, he was not expected to live through the first winter. But with his mother’s tender care, he managed to survive. As a boy, he caused much trouble for his parents. He used to play jokes on all of his friends and neighbours. He didn’t like to go to school, and he constantly ran away from home. He always went in the direction of the nearby Mississippi River. He was nearly drowned nine times.

After his father’s death in 1847, Mark Twain began to work for a printer, who only provided him with food and clothing. Then, he worked as a printer, a river-boat pilot and later joined the army. But shortly after that he became a miner. During this period, he started to write short stories. Afterwards he became a full-time writer.

In 1870, Mark Twain got married. In the years that followed he wrote many books including Tom Sawyer in 1876, and Huckleberry Finn in 1884, which made him famous, and brought him a great fortune.

Unfortunately, Mark Twain got into debts in bad investments (投资) and he had to write large numbers of stories to pay these debts. In 1904, his wife died, and then three of their children passed away.

At the age of 70, his hair was completely white. He bought many white suits and neckties. He wore nothing but white from head to foot until his death on April 21, 1910.

1. Mark Twain left school at 12 to________.

A．work as a miner

B．write stories

C．join the army

D．make a living

2. Which of the following about Mark Twain is NOT true?

A．He was not a healthy boy.	B．He caused much trouble for his parents.
C．He gained lots of money by writing.	D．He had a happy childhood but a sad later life.

3. ________brought him fame and lots of money.

A．His works	B．His investments
C．His printing	D．His family

4. The best title of this passage is________.

A．Mark Twain’s Works	B．Mark Twain’s Life
C．Mark Twain’s Fame	D．Mark Twain’s Success

3 . 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。

China is a big old country,     1     has a history of more than five thousand years. We are proud of     2    (it) culture and part of the culture even influences the world     3    (great), for example, the thought of Confucius. As Chinese economy develops very fast and plays     4     important role in the world, more and more     5    (foreign) learn Mandarin (普通话) in Confucius Institutes. The Chinese traditional culture can be tested by time. It unites the whole nation and no matter     6    kind of disaster comes, we will fight together for the country’s future. Today, many young people lose faith in the traditional culture and they are crazy     7     the western culture. They follow the western fashion,     8     (think) we are out of style. But someday, they     9     (realize) it is wrong     10     (reject) the traditional culture.

4 . 假如你是李华，请给你的外国朋友Tom写一封信，给他提一些汉语学习方面的好建议并陈述理由。要点如下：
1．培养兴趣；
2．多阅读；
3．中文电影。
注意：
1．词数100词左右(信的开头和结尾已经给出，并不计入总词数)；
2．可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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5 . Five years ago, Chinese skater Wu Dajing introduced himself to the skating world by winning a silver medal at the Sochi Olympic Winter Games. At Pyeong Chang Olympics, Wu not only returned, but also made history.

On Feb 22th, 2018, Wu won the gold medal in the men’s short-track 500-metre race. He set a new world record with a time of 39.584 seconds. He also became the first Chinese man to take home an Olympic short-track gold medal. BBC said Wu’s win was “flawless”, because he was much faster than all of the other skaters.

“I didn’t give them a chance and I kept my speed from the start,” he told the media after the match.

But China’s short-track teams didn’t do well in general at the Games. Chinese skaters in the women’s 500 metres, 3000-metre relay and men’s 1500 metres all failed to take home the gold. Wu was China’s biggest hope, which put a lot of pressure on him. But he proved himself with his great performance.

Wu is now known as a highly talented skater. But things were not always that way. When Wu joined the national team in 2010, he was seen as almost “nothing” compared to gifted skaters like Zhou Yang and Fan Kexin, as his coaches said at the time. Their comments made him quite upset. But as the saying goes. “Winners never quit (放弃) and quitters never win”. Wu didn’t want to give up and worked as hard as he could. He practiced skating all year round. He even didn’t return to his hometown for the holidays for 10 years. “I believe in myself.” he told the media after his match at the Olympics.

1. People began to know Wu Dajing by the time he .

A．won the second place at the Sochi Olympic Winter Games

B．won a gold medal at the Sochi Olympic Winter Games

C．won a gold medal at Pycong Chang Olympic Winter Games

D．entered the Pycong Chang Olympic Winter Games

2. What does the underlined word “flawless” mean?

A．common

B．valuable

C．perfect

D．difficult

3. According to the passage, which of the following is RIGHT?

A．Wu won a gold medal at the Sochi Olympic Winter Games four years ago.

B．Wu broke the world record with a time of 39.584 seconds and made history.

C．Wu’s coaches placed great hope on him when he joined the national team.

D．Chinese skaters in women’s 500 metres, 3000-metre relay took home the gold.

4. What does the last paragraph mainly tell us?

A．The national team and coaches thought Wu as a talented skater all the way.

B．Wu kept on practicing skating all year round even in the holidays for 10 years.

C．Zhou Yang and Fan Kexin were more hard-working on skating than Wu Dajing.

D．It is the hardwork, confidence and strong will that have made Wu a winner.

6 . 假定你是李华，你的英语朋友Peter来信向你询问如何才能学好中文。请你根据下列要点写一封回信。
1.参加中文学习班；
2.看中文书刊，电视；
3.学唱中文歌曲；
4.交中国朋友。
注意：
1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Peter,
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7 . How to Make Friends

Friendship is a very important human relationship and everyone needs good friends. Good friendship has many benefits. It offers companionship, improves self-worth and promotes good health. There are times in our lives such as when we have recently moved into a new town, or changed our jobs or schools. Such changes often leave us without a friend.     1     But for many of us the process is difficult and requires courage. Below are some helpful suggestions on how to make and keep friends.

1. Associate with others.

The first step to making friends is associating with other people. You can go to public places to meet new people. Besides, you will need to make yourself known by becoming an active member of such places.

2. Start a conversation.

Starting a conversation is the second most important step in making new friends.     2     You can always start the conversation. Being able to make small talk is a very useful skill in relating with other people.

3.     3    

Choosing friends with common interests is important in building friendship as these interests would always bring you and your friend together. Hanging out will always be a pleasant experience.

4. Let it grow.

It is a good thing to stay in touch. However, try not to press your new friend with calls, messages or visits as this would likely wear him or her out and finally you may lose your friend.     4     The best friendships are the ones that grow naturally.

5. Enjoy your friendship.

The best way to enjoy your friendship is to allow your friends to be themselves.     5     Try not to change them from who they are to what you want them to be. Become the kind of friend you will want your friend to be to you.

A．Be cheerful.

B．Do things together.

C．Do not wait to be spoken to.

D．Try not to find fault with your friends.

E．Making new friends comes easy for some people.

F．For a friendship to develop you need to stay in touch.

G．So you will need to give your friend time to react to you.

8 . 假定你是张晓雅，你的美国朋友Peter打算来中国旅行，他想请你为他制定一份旅行计划。请你用英文给他回复邮件。邮件主要内容包括：
1.感谢他对你在美国旅行期间的精心照顾；
2.推荐景点及推荐原因；
3.介绍到该景点旅行的最佳时间和需要注意的安全问题。
注意：（1）词数100左右；（2）可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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