1 . ____________ (learn) more about Chinese culture, Jack has decided to take Chinese folk music as an elective course. (所给词的适当形式填空)

2 . A professor entered the classroom and told the students about a surprise test. All students were_________ and waited for the test to begin. The professor gave the test papers to all students with text facing down at the desk. Once he was done with _________ the test to all students, he asked them to_________ the test paper and begin.

Students were ___________ to see that there was just a black dot in the center of the page. The professor told them, “I want you to ___________ about what you see there.” The students were___________ confused but got started with the test. At the end of the class, the professor collected all answer sheets and started reading each answer from each sheet in front of all students. All of them___________ about the black dot and tried to explain its position.

Now, professor began to explain, “Here everyone_________ the black dot and wrote about it_________ no one wrote about the white paper. The same is with our lives. The white paper stands for our whole life and the black dot __________problems in our life.

Our life is a __________ given to us by God, with love and care, and we always have reasons to celebrate—our friends around us, the job that provides us with everything we need. However, we just focus on day to day ____________ like health issues, lack of money, poor relationships, but we seldom see that these problems are very small __________to everything we have in our lives.”

We should try to take eyes __________ our problems and enjoy each moment that life gives us. Be happy and live your life ____________.

1.

A．disappointed

B．curious

C．concerned

D．surprised

2.

A．handing out

B．working out

C．dealing with

D．mixing up

3.

A．open

B．read

C．defend

D．turn

4.

A．annoyed

B．addicted

C．confused

D．amazed

5.

A．bring

B．speak

C．write

D．talk

6.

A．still

B．hardly

C．never

D．mostly

7.

A．communicated

B．described

C．accepted

D．used

8.

A．concentrated on

B．depended on

C．insisted on

D．counted on

9.

A．for

B．so

C．and

D．but

10.

A．likes

B．means

C．prefers

D．deserves

11.

A．picture

B．lesson

C．gift

D．text

12.

A．events

B．adventures

C．solutions

D．problems

13.

A．connected

B．compared

C．addicted

D．attracted

14.

A．on

B．in

C．off

D．under

15.

A．formally

B．differently

C．obviously

D．positively

3 . Finally came Wednesday! I walked onto campus feeling nervous even though I had walked on these same grounds for two years because my junior high school is next door. Everything looked and felt different now that I was in senior high.

I looked at my schedule. First period-German. Our German teacher was very friendly and I liked her from the beginning. What I didn’t like, though, was that I was surrounded by students from other grades, with only five familiar faces.

Then I had to walk all the way across campus and up three flights of stairs to get to my second period-biology. Our biology teacher is Ms Campeau, and I think that she will teach us a lot this year because she is very to the point. She also has her unique way of saying be quiet; she says“alligator”. She explained that she is the king, or should I say queen, of the class because alligators are the “king of the swamps (沼泽)”.

My third class was English. After surviving two periods without too much of a challenge, I began to feel good. However, the third period changed everything. Mr Valassidis, my English teacher, told us that we would have to write 40 essays (文章) and read AP-level books such as The 0dyssey this year. I love reading and writing, but 40ESSA YS?AP-level books? Now I was scared. He also talked about how important it was to be focused. Last year was not a very “focused” year for me. While doing homework, I was often talking on the phone, or busy with a conversation online. I planned on stepping it up this year because I wanted to stay an honours student.

1. What did the author mainly write about in this passage?

A．Her new teachers.

B．Her plan for the new year.

C．Her first day of senior high.

D．Her schedule for Wednesday.

2. What should students do when Ms Campeau says“alligator”?

A．Sit still.	B．Stop talking.
C．Look at the blackboard.	D．Listen carefully.

3. How did the author find her first two classes?

A．Unattractive.	B．Informative.
C．Very tiring.	D．Pretty easy.

4. Why did the author feel scared during the third period?

A．She couldn’t focus on her work.

B．She found the class demanding.

C．She didn’t like the teacher.

D．She did poorly at school.

4 . When I was 12 years old, I already knew that my teen years were going to be the worst years of my life. I was a total outsider, bullied (欺凌) at school. I felt completely alone in my small town.

But by starting to do volunteer work when I was 14, I turned my problem into a passion for helping others. The opportunity to practice kindness made me feel like my life had a greater purpose. The more positive energy I shared, the more kindness and appreciation I received. I realized that my purpose in life would be to reach out to people, specifically teenagers, and help them feel less alone.

Books were my true friends back then. I was so thankful that the authors wrote those books. The kindness they offered me with their books saved my life. One of my biggest dreams was to become an author so I could write books that would help other teenagers the way those books helped me.

After surviving terrible experiences at school and at home, I made a choice to take the optimistic, positive road in the next steps of my journey. My dream career, one I thought was only possible for the authors I loved, is what I am doing now. I have been a full-time author of teen novels since 2007 and am grateful for this amazing opportunity to reach out to readers every single day.

Kindness saved me when I needed help the most. Even small acts of kindness can change someone’s life. You never know what someone else is going through. But by practicing daily kindness, you become an architect of positive change.

1. What was the author’s life like when he was 12?

A．Boring.

B．Peaceful.

C．Painful.

D．Meaningful.

2. How did the volunteer work benefit the author?

A．It made him popular in his town.	B．It helped him find the meaning of life.
C．It helped him understand others’ lives better.	D．It helped to shape his dream career.

3. Why did the author choose writing as his job?

A．He was inspired by his teacher.	B．He could pass positive energy to readers.
C．He wanted to share his school experiences.	D．He found he had a talent for writing.

4. What does the author suggest readers do in the last paragraph?

A．Say “no” to bullies bravely.	B．Make positive changes in their lives.
C．Treat others with kindness in daily life.	D．Learn to care more about others’ feelings.

5 . Hadi Partovi, founder of Code. org believes every student should learn the basics of computer science just like they do math, physics, or biology, regardless of what they want to do in the future. The expert says knowledge about the subject is important to understand how the world around us works and compares it to learning about photosynthesis (光合作用), even though not every student is going to be a botanist. To spark students’ interest, he created the “Hour of Code”, which introduces the world of computing to anyone, from ages 14 to 104, in a fun, interactive manner. Observed annually during Computer Science Week, the event now draws tens of millions of kids from over 180 countries.

The “Hour of Code”, which can be scheduled anytime during Computer Science Week, begins with an introductory video on computer science. Participants can then select from hundreds of fun assignments that are sorted by both grade level and coding experience. Though each project is designed to last just sixty minutes, beginners can deal with as many challenges as they desire.

To help introduce computer science in classrooms on a more regular basis, Code. org has also developed a catalog of online courses that can be incorporated in a school’s regular curriculum. Since the nonprofit began offering the courses in 2013, over 704, 000 teachers have signed up to teach introductory computer science to over 22 million students worldwide.

Thanks to the efforts of the pioneer, about 40 percent of US schools now offer computer science as a subject. The numbers are even higher — an impressive 70 percent — if after-school offerings such as robotics clubs are included. Even more encouraging, eight years ago, just 19,390 students took an Advanced Placement Computer Science exam. By the spring of 2017, the number had jumped 415 percent to 99,868.

1. Why did Hardi Partovi create the “Hour of Code”?

A．To introduce computing to more children.

B．To add a programme to Computer Science Week.

C．To help people learn computer science in a fun way.

D．To train computer scientists for his future program.

2. The “Hour of Code” is so called most probably because ________.

A．it can be scheduled anytime.

B．its projects last sixty minutes each.

C．it will surely attract more students to attend.

D．its tasks can be sorted by coding experience.

3. What do we know about Code. org’s online courses?

A．They help the developer make lots of money.

B．They have existed for over 20 years up to now.

C．Over 704, 000 teachers have been learning them.

D．Schools can use them regularly in their classrooms.

4. What do the numbers show in the last paragraph?

A．The influence of robotics clubs.

B．The effect of Hadi Partovi’s efforts.

C．The development of many US schools.

D．The efforts that Hadi Partovi has made.

6 . What a day! I started my new school this morning and had the best time. I made lots of new friends and really liked my teachers. I was nervous the night before, but I had no reason to be. Everyone was so friendly and polite. They made me feel at ease. It was like I’d been at the school for a hundred years!

The day started very early at 7:00 am. I had my breakfast downstairs with my mom. She could tell that I was very nervous. Mom kept asking me what was wrong. She told me I had nothing to worry about and that everyone was going to love me. If they didn’t love me, mom said to have a good talk with them. I couldn’t stop laughing.

My mom dropped me off at the school gate about five minutes before the bell rang. A little blonde girl got dropped off at the same time and started waving (招手) at me. She ran over and told me her name was Abigail. She was very nice and we became close straight away. We spent all morning together and began to talk to another girl called Stacey. The three of us sat together in class all day and we even made our way home together! It went so quickly. Our teacher told us that tomorrow we would really start learning and developing new skills.

I cannot wait until tomorrow and feel as though I am really going to enjoy my time at my new school. I only hope that my new friends feel the same way, too.

1. How did the author feel the night before her new school?

A．Tired.

B．Excited.

C．Happy.

D．Worried.

2. What did the author think of her mother’s advice?

A．Clear.

B．Funny.

C．Reasonable.

D．Excellent.

3. What happened on the author’s first day of school?

A．She met many nice people.	B．She had a hurried breakfast.
C．She learned some new skills.	D．She arrived at school very early.

4. What can we infer about Abigail?

A．She disliked Stacey.	B．She was shy and quiet.
C．She got on well with the author.	D．She was an old friend of the author.

7 . Afraid to have a start, I was walking slowly into my first school in America. I had _______ a long way from India in order to join parents. They had been here for three years, and hoped America would help my future. My father decided that I would go to school here, so I found a local high school in my new town.

With _______ on one hand and fear on the other, I arrived at the classroom. Everyone’s eyes were on me as I entered the classroom. Without paying attention to them, I went straight to the _______ and asked if it was the right class. With a _______ voice, he answered, “Yes.” His voice comforted (安慰) me a little. He gave me a piece of _______ called “course requirements”, which I would never get in India. Then he asked me to choose where I would sit. I chose the _______   closest to the door instead of the corner where all of the boys were sitting. I didn’t _______ want to pick a seat. In India, the teacher _______ the seats, so I never needed to worry about that. I spent the rest of the class taking notes from the picture produced by the overhead projector (投影仪).

_______ it was my first day, I was confused (困惑的) about which hallway (走廊) to use, but I ________ to get to my classes without asking anyone. I was very confused about when I would have ________. It was noon when I went to my next class and the bell rang as I entered. I went through the normal process of asking the teacher if I was in the right class. Feeling ________, she said, “That is the lunch bell.” I felt a little awkward. Without another word, I headed for the cafeteria (食堂).

At the end of the day, I was on my way to the bus stop. I realized that all the ________ was like the difficulty I had to ________ to reach my goal. I ________ my bus and sat down inside happily. I said to myself: Today isn’t so bad.

1.

A．traveled

B．increased

C．walked

D．planned

2.

A．anger

B．anxiety

C．doubt

D．sadness

3.

A．worker

B．classmate

C．teacher

D．trainer

4.

A．deep

B．familiar

C．strict

D．soft

5.

A．book

B．paper

C．notice

D．tool

6.

A．seat

B．direction

C．table

D．goal

7.

A．generally

B．suddenly

C．honestly

D．actually

8.

A．kept

B．repaired

C．decided

D．took

9.

A．Though

B．When

C．Since

D．Before

10.

A．feared

B．refused

C．allowed

D．managed

11.

A．gifts

B．lunch

C．fun

D．chances

12.

A．surprised

B．excited

C．frightened

D．challenged

13.

A．failure

B．thought

C．confusion

D．amazement(惊异)

14.

A．put away

B．get through

C．build up

D．show off

15.

A．saw

B．missed

C．drove

D．waited

8 . How to Be Creative

Most of us think that creativity is a quality (品质) belonging only to artists, writers, or dancers, rather than ourselves.     1     The following tips are a great beginning for developing our creativity.

Get out of your comfort zone

We eagerly accept the familiar and fear the unknown. Break out of your usual patterns and welcome creativity into your life. As said earlier, the human brain was designed to recognize patterns.     2     In fact, our comfort zone is nothing more than a collection of patterns. As we become more efficient at recognizing and using patterns, we rely less on creativity to find new paths. We should force ourselves out of our comfort zones and open up new possibilities.

Try different things

If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got. We are creatures of habits and routines, and creativity hates routines (常规). If you usually drive to work, take the subway for a few days.     3       Break your routine, experiment and try something new. New things are often creative, but the same old thing never is.

    4    

Having a great idea is not enough, you must work to make it a reality. Have you ever seen a new product and realized that you thought of the same thing long ago? Yet someone else is making money with “your” idea.     5     The difference between a dreamer and a doer is action. Do whatever it takes to bring your ideas to life. If you can put them into practice, you are well on your way to improving your creativity in all areas of your life.

A．Take action

B．Seek several options

C．Think from the other person’s point of view.

D．If you normally eat in the office, have lunch under a tree.

E．We continue to create patterns for almost everything we do.

F．The truth is that we are all born with the ability to be creative.

G．We all have great ideas sometimes, but only a few people turn their ideas into realities.